This is How the Story Goes
by emilie whoa
Summary: What if Bella didn't jump off the cliff alone? Would Alice still come running? Would Edward try to kill himself? Would he return to Forks, or stay away forever?
1. prologue: Cliff Diving

**A/N:** well, i'm back! after a not so long hiatus. I've been working my ass off with this story. I have four chapters done already so if you guys actually like it then i won't make you wait for too long.

I think you guys might not like my version of Bella. But don't really care, because a girl is bound to become cynical and angry when the love of her life leaves. anyways, theres lots of language, so be warned!

**disclaimer: **don't own anything. not even the bands i mention. snaps fingers damn.

now! onto the show!

* * *

Seven months. That's how long it took me to finally realize that I shouldn't be so fucking depressed and sad about the situation _he_ left me in. He wanted me to live, and that's exactly what I would start doing. He wasn't worth it if he didn't love me anymore. He would forever be carved into my mind, and he would only be a memory. 

Jacob Black had become my best friend. And no matter what, he would stay that way. He was my savior, me safe harbor. My light at the end of the tunnel. I was glad to have him, and now I had Embry, Jared, Paul, Sam, and even Emily. I found it sort of ironic that I practically traded a family of vampires for a pack of werewolves. I didn't think they would be too happy about that, but they weren't here. They didn't matter anymore.

"Hey, Jake?" I asked, breaking the silence between us. We were sitting on a blanket, on a cliff that overlooked First Beach. If I wasn't mistaken, this was the same cliff that I had seen Sam and the others jump off a little while ago. It looked a little tempting, but I didn't want to worry Jake by spontaneously jumping off a cliff. He wouldn't appreciate that too much.

"Yeah, Bella?" Jacob turned to face me.

"Do you think I'm crazy?"

He frowned and looked confused. He blinked a couple of times before answering. "Well, if you want the truth, then yes. I do think you're crazy. But not in the way that you're talking about."

A smile played across my lips. "You mean I'm nuts for hanging out with a bunch of werewolves, and having a vengeful vampire stalking me?"

Jacob laughed and pulled me into a hug. "Exactly. You're so calm about everything, Bella. It worries me sometimes."

"But you don't think I'm crazy because I hear his voice in my head, then?" I asked.

"Of course not. It's your way of getting a little wish fulfillment," He said.

I frowned and shrugged. "I guess. When you start putting it that way, then maybe you're right."

Jacob laughed and shook his head. "I'm always right Bella. You should know that by now."

"Don't flatter yourself." I laughed and pushed him away.

We fell into silence once again. The only sounds were the waves crashing into the rocks below us and the occasional car driving by. I fell back on the blanket and propped my head up on my arm. I was staring at Jake. He was looking out into the water. He looked so calm, so serene. Like he didn't have a care in the world at that moment.

"Jake," I said suddenly. I didn't even realize I had wanted to say anything. The statement shocked me a little.

He looked away from the water and stared down at me. "Yes?"

I smiled at him. "Do you remember when you promised you'd take me cliff diving?"

He held up a hand to stop me from continuing. "Oh no! Not happening. Nah-uh."

I pushed myself back into a sitting position. "Oh, come on! Please!! Don't be a douche about this."

"No," He said fiercely.

I started pouting. "You're no fun, Jake."

He sighed and got up. "Come on then," He said, holding a hand out for me to take.

I gave him a toothy grin and gladly took his hand. I loved how I always got my way with Jacob; I used it to my advantage a little more than I should. He pulled me up and caught me when I tripped on the blanket corner.

"God, Bella. You're such a health hazard," He said righting me on the ground again.

"I resent that, you bastard!" I yelled and punched him in the stomach.

Jacob just rolled his eyes. He knew I never hurt him, and he loved to point it out, but for some reason, today he didn't.

We were standing on the edge of the cliff now. It was a long fall, it was perfect. I couldn't wait to jump. I was probably smiling profusely, but I was too distracted by the rush of adrenaline seeping its way into in my veins.

"If you let go of my hand, I'm going to have to kill you. Kapeesh?" Jacob grabbed by hand and looked at me.

I sighed melodramatically. "Yes, sir." I gave a mock salute with my free hand.

The next thing I knew, we were flying through the air, hurdling toward the water.

"Holy sh…!" I managed just before we hit the waves.

* * *

so, what'd you think? feedback please! 


	2. chapter 1: Surprises

**A/N:** Okay, so this is the first chapter. after getting the reviews on the prologue i went through the chapters i've already written and decided to kill as much of the profanity as i could. and i think that where ever there is any, its pretty necessary.

anyways. thanks for the feedback!! you guys rock.

don't you just love how both stories that i've written have the word STORY in them? its purely coincidental too. i seriously didn't mean it.

**Disclaimer:** all the characters and the concept are property of Stephenie Meyer. I don't own Social Distortion either.

* * *

"_I'm a Cadillac tramp at the end of his road_

_A swap meet rat who's sitting on gold, yeah baby_

_I'm a guitar gangster without a tune_

_I'm the baseball bat that's waiting to swing_

_Your loan shark friend with the broken knees_

_I'm a penthouse pauper with nothing to do…"_

The Social Distortion song bounced off the walls of my bedroom as I got ready to go over to Sam and Emily's house. I couldn't decide what to wear, they didn't tell me if I was supposed to be formal or not. I was going for not, as usual.

"_Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I'm chasing Nickels and Dimes_

_The rest of the world passes me by_

_Nah, Nah, Nah, I'm just wasting my time_

_I'm just sitting here and wondering why?"_

I finally decided on some jeans and my Used band t-shirt. I quickly pulled on my favorite pair of converse and headed down the stairs, but not before tripping on the last step.

"Ugh," I said and pulled myself off the floor. The ground and I had really gotten to know each other since last September. I grabbed my keys and a hoodie just in case.

I was just getting into my truck when my cell phone started buzzing in my pocket. I flipped it open, "Hello?"

"Bella, where the hell are you?!" Jared's voice filled my ear.

I laughed. "I'm getting in my truck now, idiot."

"Oh. Okay then. Hurry up. Emily is getting all Emily-like." He said, completely ignoring my insult.

"Okay okay, I'm coming." I shut the phone and threw it on the dashboard. Emily tended to worry too much. If someone was a few minutes late for something, she would start to freak out. Emily was just a little over-protective of those she cared about.

"And I thought vampires were impatient." I laughed and shook my head. I started speeding down the street with The Vines blaring from the stereo.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later I was sitting in Sam and Emily's kitchen arguing with Embry on whether rap should be considered music or not. 

"Rap is just talking with a beat. I mean seriously. Anyone can grab a microphone and rhyme." I pointed out, making hand gestures as I talked.

"Yeah, well anyone can grab a microphone and scream into it." He retorted.

"Whoever said I didn't agree with that?" I raised an eyebrow. "I just don't think rap should be considered music. It's pointless. It has no purpose. I mean, come on, who wants to listen to black guys talk about sex and drugs and gangs for three minutes? And don't get me started on those white guys who think they're all gangster. Plus, it gives me a headache."

"Would you two shut up? Rap and rock both suck. Get over it." Sam cut in. He didn't even look up from his newspaper, but I could tell there was a smile on his face.

I scoffed. "Are you going to tell me that country is a Godsend? Because if you do I think I might just throw up." I made a fake gagging noise. Embry starting laughing hysterically and fell out of his chair.

"Kay, Embry. It wasn't _that_ funny." I rolled my eyes and sat back in my chair, folding my arms across my chest.

"Are you sure you're not hungry Bella? I can make you something." Emily asked, completely ignoring Embry, who was still on the ground gasping for breath and laughing at the same time.

I smiled. "No thanks. I ate before I left Charlie's."

"Are you completely sure? I don't want you starving," She looked absolutely worried.

I got up and gave her a hug. "I'm fine, Em. Don't worry about me."

She sighed and hugged me back. "Okay, fine."

I pulled away and went back to sit down at the table. A comfortable silence filled the air after that. We were waiting for Jacob to pick up Paul and get over here. I had no idea why we were all hanging out today, but I had the sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with my graduation yesterday. I also had the notion that Jake and Paul were late because they were doing something about my graduation present.

The only sounds that filled the kitchen were of Emily cooking breakfast for the boys, and Sam turning the pages of the newspaper. I smiled at the scene in front of me. We almost looked like a family, waiting for breakfast on a Sunday morning.

Never in a million years would I have thought I would actually be happy when he left. I thought I would be broken forever, I thought I would be damaged goods. But I wasn't. I belonged here, and even though it still hurt to see the love between Emily and Sam, I was happy. I was truly happy that I wasn't as broken as I thought I was. Maybe I didn't love him as much as I thought. _Yeah, right, Bella. You wish._

The sound of the front door opening and closing brought me away from my thoughts. Seconds later Jacob and Paul appeared in the room.

"What's cooking?" Paul asked, making his way over to the stove. "Smells great."

Emily slapped his hand away when he tried to grab some eggs. "Go sit down." She scolded and pointed to the table. He listened obediently and made his way over to a chair.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" I asked finally, hoping someone would spill the secret.

"It's a surprise," Jacob said. _Damn, no such luck._

I slumped in my seat. "You know how much I hate surprises."

Jacob smiled. "Well, too bad. You're entitled to a surprise. You just graduated from high school."

"I still hate surprises." I pouted.

"You'll like this one though," Paul mumbled with a mouthful of eggs. Jared slapped him upside the head and shot him a death glare.

I watched as everyone dug into their food. I almost started laughing when they were all finished in a matter of minutes. Not one piece of food was left, everything was gone. It still amazed me how much werewolves ate, and how fast. They practically engulfed everything. I was astounded that no one ever choked.

"Okay, is everyone ready to go?" Jared clapped his hands together and got up from the table.

"Go where?" I asked, my brow furrowed in confusion.

"To your surprise, silly," He shook his head and tapped a finger on the tip of my nose.

I frowned. "Are we driving?"

"Yes, we," Jacob gestured to Sam and himself. "are driving. You, my dear one, are being blindfolded."

My mouth hung open for a moment. "Blindfolded?"

Paul nodded and smiled. "Yep, blindfolded."

A few minutes later I was sitting in my truck, on the passenger side, blindfolded. I couldn't see a thing if my life depended on it. I wanted to rip the stupid piece of cloth off.

I could feel the car starting to slow down and then stop altogether.

The passenger door opened Jacob grabbed my arm. He steadied me on the ground and started leading me somewhere. I had no idea where I was, and a little part of me didn't want to know. Whatever this surprise was, I didn't want to find out at the moment. I sort of felt like I was being led to my death, don't ask me why.

"It's just a little farther," Jake whispered in my ear, sensing my anxiety.

I started counting the steps until we stopped, it was a helpful distraction. I got to fifty-three. Jacob slowly untied the blindfold and lowered it from my eyes. Standing right in front of me was a fully restored 1965 cherry red Ford Mustang. (**A/N:** there's a picture in my profile.)

I shrieked and turned around to hug Jacob. "I…You…" I couldn't even talk in coherent sentences. "…is it…mine?"

Jacob nodded and hugged me back. "It's all yours Bella. I still have a little adjustment to make on the stereo system but other than that it's good to go."

I gave another shriek and started hugging everyone else. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Emily giggled. "You deserve it Bells. Its time we get rid of that hunk of junk you call a truck."

"Hey! I like that truck." I pouted.

"But you like the Mustang more, right?" Jared asked.

I smiled and bit my lip, nodding my head profusely. "Well, duh." I paused for a moment. "Hey, how did you guys afford this?"

"Charlie found the car in the junk yard, and bought it," Jake explained. "And we all pitched in a little so me and Embry could fix it up."

"Charlie got me a Mustang? Wow, my dad knows me better than I thought." I smiled and looked over at my new car. It was beautiful. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the steering wheel. I finally noticed we were at Jacob's house, in the back where his makeshift garage was.

Suddenly all the guys went rigid. They almost looked like they would change right there, in front of Emily and I. I stared at her, mentally asking what was up. She stared back and noticing my expression, just shrugged.

"We've got to go," Sam said quickly. "Bella, take Emily back to the house and wait there for us, got it?"

I held up my hands. "Okay, sheesh. What's going on?"

"It's Quil," answered Jacob.

I nodded my head, knowing what this was about. "Alright," I shooed them away with my hand. "Be gone with you." And with that, all five of them took off running.

Emily and I jumped into my truck and headed back to the house. We were silent most of the way, but when I looked over and saw the worry on her face I had to say something.

I reached over and grabbed her hand in mine. "They're going to be fine, Em."

She smiled half-heartedly at my attempt to make her feel better. "I know. I'm just worried about Quil. I always hate to see those poor boys doomed to this life."

I sighed. "I know what you mean. It's got to be hard for them. But at least they don't have to go through it alone. Not like Sam." I pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine. I turned to Emily and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, Em. I shouldn't have said that."

"No, you're right. At least Quil has someone to help." She slowly pulled away from me and opened her door. I followed suit, and we walked into the house to wait for the pack to get back.

* * *

Two hours. Two mind numbly boring hours was how long it took them to get back. 

Emily and I tried to keep ourselves busy but it didn't work very well. We finally settle on watching _I love the 80s part deux_ on VH1 and playing Texas Hold 'Em, very badly I might add.

I glanced up at the TV while I waited for Emily to put down the river. "You know, other than the bad hair, I think the 80s were pretty awesome."

She smiled and flipped over a card. "Yeah, they were."

I frowned. "I wish I remembered it more. There's only so much of being three a girl can recall."

Just then the front door burst open and six very exhausted looking boys stepped through. Emily immediately jumped up and ran over to Sam, who picked her up and wouldn't let her back down. I looked away; it hurt too much to watch. The love radiated off of them in waves. I suppressed a shudder.

I heard Quil whispering something to Jacob, who just laughed and nodded his head. The shock on Quil's face was priceless, I couldn't help but laugh. I knew he was surprised and Emily and I knew what they were.

Jacob made his way over to me and pulled me up from the couch. He pulled me into a tight hug. "Its good to see you too, buddy." I said into his chest. He laughed and let me go.

"Bella, you remember Quil right?" He pointed behind him. Quil waved at me sheepishly.

"Of course I do. Now move so I can give the kid a hug." I shoved Jacob out of the way and moved over to Quil. I pulled him into a little hug; he was a little hesitant at first but then hugged me back. "Welcome to the family," I said and pulled away.

"Hey, Jake," I turned around to face my best friend.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"I gotta get home; Charlie wants to take me out to dinner or something. Will you drop my Mustang off when you get the stereo finished?" I went over to the coffee table to grab my car keys.

"Of course, it'll be there by tomorrow afternoon at the latest." He pulled me into another bone crushing hug and when he noticed I wasn't breathing he finally let go.

I stood on my tip-toes and gave him a quick a kiss on the cheek. "See you tomorrow," I walked over to Emily, who was finally back on the ground. "Wedding plans tomorrow, right?"

She laughed. "Of course Bella."

I pointed a finger in her direction and said, "I'll hold you to that." And then I was out the door.


	3. chapter 2: Plans

**A/N:** okay, so I was going to post this tomorrow, but I just couldn't resist. I've spend the better part of this afternoon editing the chapters i've written so far so I haven't started on chapter 5 yet, but whatever. I'll start as soon as I post this.

if any of you are confused by the last chapter, i'm going to explain. The prologue takes place in April, and chapter 1 starts off in June, right after Bella graduates. so yeah.

A big thank you to all of my reviewers. Especially Sara, you're totally awesome.

**Disclaimer:** don't own it. I don't own The Classic Crime either(although I really wish I did)

* * *

Charlie held the door open for me as I stepped into the restaurant. I nodded my head as a thank you and the hostess led us to a table in the far corner and we sat down. 

I was staring intently at my menu when Charlie started talking. "You've changed Bells," he stated.

I frowned and looked up from the menu. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

He smiled. "A good thing, definitely a good thing."

I smiled back. "Good, I'm glad you approve of my moving forward with my life."

The waitress came then. We ordered our food and fell into another silence. It wasn't awkward; Charlie and I never really were the talking types. We ate our food in silence and walked back to the cruiser.

"Thanks for the Mustang dad," I said finally.

He looked over at me in surprise. "You know about that?"

I smiled. "Was I not supposed to know it came from you? Jacob showed it to me today, he's gonna bring it over tomorrow once he finishes fixing the stereo system."

Charlie nodded. "Of course you were supposed to know. I just didn't think Jacob had it finished already. You're welcome, by the way. You only get to live once, and since you told me one time that you wanted a Mustang I thought, hey, why not. I got really lucky that I found the exact one you wanted too. I couldn't pass it up."

We pulled into the driveway and got out of the car. When we walked into the house I spoke again.

"I'm going to head to bed, Emily and I are planning the wedding tomorrow." I turned and started up the stairs. "Thanks again for the car. And dinner, of course. I love you, dad."

"I love you too, Bells," Charlie called after me.

I went into my room to grab my bathroom supplies and then made my way over to the bathroom. I turned on the CD player and Ok Go starting playing. I turned on the water and waited for it to get as hot as it would go.

When the steam was starting to make it hard to me to breathe, I turned the cold water on a little and then jumped into the shower. I don't know how long I spent in there, but when the CD ended I decided it was time to get out. My fingers were getting all pruny anyway.

I changed into my favorite flannel pajama pants and my superman t-shirt and started pulling a brush through my hair. When I decided nothing else could be done for it, I made my way back to my room.

I shut the door behind me and flopped myself onto my bed. I turned on my stereo. The soft melodies of Beethoven's ninth symphony were the last thing I heard before I let sleep overtake me.

I woke up to the sound of a car honking. I rubbed my eyes and looked over at my alarm clock. 11:17. Wow, I haven't slept in that late for a while.

I jumped out of bed, and while making my way over to my window, tripped on the sheets. I was sent hurdling to the floor. _The perfect way to start the day,_ I thought bitterly.

Charlie's cruiser was gone and was replaced by my cherry red Mustang. I smiled wide and made my way down stairs, being extra careful to make sure I didn't trip. I didn't even bother putting shoes on; I just sprinted out the door, in all my disheveled morning glory.

Jacob was laughing as he stepped out of the car. I scowled and punched him in the arm and gave him my best 'shut the hell up, I just got out of bed' look. He just kept laughing.

"Is it ready?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the car in front of us. I couldn't believe it was mine, I had dreamed of owning this car since I was five years old and I found out what Mustang's were.

Jacob dangled the keys in front of my face. "I even adjusted the seat for you."

I smiled even wider, if that was possible. "Let's take it for a test drive, then." I paused and replaced my smile with a thoughtful look.

"Wait, I should get dressed shouldn't I? And that way I can go straight to Emily's." I thought out loud.

"It makes things a little easier," Jake shrugged.

I turned on my heel and went back inside to change. Jacob was right behind me, until I stopped him on the stairs. "You," I pointed to the living room. "Can go watch TV."

He frowned. "Aww, I thought you were finally gonna give in."

I laughed. "Not happening, pervert." I started up the stairs. "Freak," I said under my breath.

"I heard that!" Jacob yelled from the couch. I giggled and stepped into my room.

A couple minutes later I was running down the stairs, still pulling my AC/DC shirt over my stomach. I managed not to trip, which was a great accomplishment considering I was trying to multi-task on an uneven surface.

"Ready?" Jake asked.

I smiled. "Hell, yeah!" I was getting giddy. I couldn't wait to drive my new car.

We made our way out to my Mustang and Jake jumped in on the passenger side. I quickly opened the driver side door and stepped in. I sat there for a moment, taking everything in. I was sitting in a Mustang. A 1965, cherry red Ford Mustang. I was in heaven, nothing could beat this.

"You know how to drive a stick, right?" Jacob asked suddenly.

I waved a hand in his direction. "_He_ taught me once over the summer," I said casually. "Before he left."

"Oh, okay then," He said, knowing all too well who I was talking about. "Good thing though. I don't want you killing the new transmission I just put in."

"Oh, stfu," I glared at him and then went to put the key in the ignition. I turned the key and the engine purred to life. I beamed, this definitely _was_ heaven.

As I was pulling out of the driveway, Jacob hooked up my iPod to the stereo and started playing The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Sometimes it felt like Jacob could read my mind; he always knew exactly what music I wanted to listen to. I smiled again and then proceeded to speed down the street.

"Okay, so you want lilies right?" I asked looking down at the flower options.

"Yeah," Emily replied, not looking up from her dress magazine. "Should I get a white, or crème colored dress?"

"White," I said instantly. "Crème is tacky."

We were sitting at the kitchen table, which at the moment could not be seen through the piles of magazines and books we had stacked everywhere. Emily reminded me a lot of Alice when it came to shopping; they were both completely obsessed.

I continued to flip through the flower book and finally got to the page of lilies. I knew that Emily wanted subtle colors, light and soft. I found some pale yellows and whites, and even some pinks. Perfect. I picked up a pen and circled the order numbers. Emily's bouquet would look amazing if we had white lilies. I made a note on the side of the page for her.

"How do you like this one?" Emily shoved the magazine in my face. The dress on the page was pure white. It was strapless, and all along the front were embroidered flowers. Tied around the waist was a thin light green ribbon. It was perfect. The dress just screamed Emily.

I smiled and handed the magazine back to her. "It's amazing Emily. You should totally get it."

She beamed. "Really? You don't think it's too much?"

I shook my head 'no'. "Nothing is too much for you. You only get married once." _Unless you're Rosalie, _I added silently.

"Now, just to find your bride's maid dress," Emily flipped a couple pages and then gasped lightly. She lifted the page for me to see. The dress was simple, black with halter straps. It fell just below the knee, and a pale yellow ribbon was tied around the waist. "I know how much you wanted your dress to be black, it's perfect, right? Am I right?"

"It's beautiful, Em." I managed to say. Normally, I hated dresses, but this one, it just called out to me. It was taunting me saying 'wear me, Bella, wear me. Love me, Bella, love me.' I had to have that dress.

"Good. What's size are you again? A four, right?" I nodded. "Okay, we'll just order that then."

We spent the rest of the day deciding what music the DJ would play. We made a playlist of about four hundred songs, and finally narrowed it down to about a hundred and fifty, much to my protest. I figured, the more music, the better the reception, but Emily thought it was a little much. I wanted to say that there could never be too much music, but decided against it.

"Bella, I know you're shy and all, but would you mind singing something for us at the wedding?" Emily asked, a little hesitant.

My eyes widened. "Of course! I would love to!" My eyes narrowed. "What song did you have in mind?"

Emily smiled at my enthusiasm. I wanted to point out that my shyness was pretty much gone the moment I jumped off that cliff, but I decided not to mention it. "I'll leave that up to you, I trust your taste in music more than I trust my own."

I stood up and leaned across the table to hug her, which was pretty difficult. Sometimes I really hated being five foot four. "Oh, Em! You're the greatest. I won't let you down."

She laughed. "I know you won't," She winked.

My cell phone started ringing then. I flipped it open. "Hey, Sam," I said, recognizing the number on my caller ID. I rolled my eyes in Emily's direction.

"Can I come home, yet?" He asked. I laughed, he sounded really impatient.

I looked over at Emily before answering. She nodded her head. "Yeah, I was just about to leave."

"Great, tell Emily I'll be home in twenty minutes." I could hear the smile in his voice. He seemed a little too happy that I was going home. Men.

"Okay, Sam. See you later." I closed the phone and turned back to Emily. "I guess I should be going then." I raised an eyebrow.

"I'll get this stuff ordered tonight, and then we can go pick it up on Tuesday." She said as she handed me my keys and purse.

"Okay, sounds good." I quickly hugged her once again and then made my way out to my Mustang.

On Tuesday afternoon, Emily and I were speeding down the highway toward Port Angeles singing along with the Linkin Park CD I finally managed to find in my mess of a room. I turned off at the Port Angeles exit, and for Emily's sake I slowed down some. She hated that I liked driving fast, which I found utterly ironic and wanted to laugh until my sides hurt. I refrained though.

I pulled into a parking spot in front of the mall and waited for Emily to get out and join me on the side walk. We walked arm in arm into the bridal shop. Our dresses were already there, just like we expected.

My dress fit perfectly, which I was surprised about. Usually I had to get things tailored because of my lack to curves, but this time, I didn't need to change a thing. The only thing I was dreading were the heels that Emily was forcing me to wear.

Emily's dress needed to be shortened by about six inches. The tailor said he would have it done in about a half hour, so we decided to head over to the flower shop and pick up the flower order.

"God, can you believe it, I'm getting married in three days." She said as we walked into the flower store.

I smiled. "You're not getting cold feet are you?"

She looked at me, shocked. "Hell, no! I can't wait to be married. I've been waiting for this for a little too long."

"I couldn't imagine getting married. No offense, but I don't think there is anyone in the world who could settle me down."

Emily smiled at me, knowingly. "I think there's one person."

"Whoa, Em," I gasped. "Nah-uh. You know he isn't coming back. And whatever happened to you knowing he doesn't love me?"

She rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I have a feeling about that boy. I don't know, but maybe he'll realize he lost the best thing that ever happened to him and he'll come back."

I just loved how she knew not to actually say his name. "You do realize that will never happen in a million years, right?"

Emily winked before turning to the flower counter. "You never know Bells. I wouldn't bet against it."

"Don't hold your breath," I muttered and she slapped me in the arm.

I tuned her out as she talked to the clerk and started thinking. I hated how Emily was so optimistic. She was always telling me how one day he would come back. She was always saying that I would forgive him and everything would go back to the way it was before. But what if I didn't want to go back to the way things were? It would be nice, but I liked the person I was now; I liked who Bella Swan had become. But if he did come back, would that mean he loved me? Would it mean that he lied to me just so he could protect me?

I didn't want to get my hopes up, that would be my downfall. If I got my hopes up, I would just get disappointed again. I would be broken all over again, and I would have to start from scratch. And I didn't know if I would be able to take having an already broken heart be smashed into again. I didn't know if I would ever be okay if that happened.

"Bella, will you help me with these?" Emily shoved my arm and pulled me from my thoughts. I finally noticed the counter was full of lilies.

I started picking up vases, and managed to carry five at once. Emily got four, I think, and we had to have a couple of the employees help us out to my car. When we got all the flowers in the trunk and managed not to kill my dress or the lilies, Emily and I went back over to the bridal shop to pick up her dress.

"We have everything, right?" I asked when we were walking back to the car.

"Yep, now all we have to do is hope that Sam gets his tux on time," She smiled and slid into the passenger seat.

I turned the key in the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot. We were almost to the highway when I asked if we could listen to something other than Linkin Park.

"What do you have in mind?" Emily asked, flipping through my CD case.

I smiled. "The Classic Crime," I answered.

"Oh! I love them." She flipped through a couple more pages and finally found the CD. She pushed it into the player and _The Fight_ started filling the car.

"_Would you go to war for me, baby,_

_Would you cry for the weak,_

_And die for the peace of men,_

_Oh how can we know,_

_You and I both know,_

_So let's make this boatload of excuses burn and sing_

_One day it all comes down to this_

_You can sink or swim_

_You can handle this_

_One day it all comes down_

_One day we all go down…"_


	4. chapter 3: Wedding

**A/N:** if you haven't noticed by the end of this chapter that i have a complete obsession with The Classic Crime, then your blind. Its not my fault, all their songs just SCREAM Bella and Edward. anyways, hope you guys liked the last chapter. you're totally gonna hate me after this one, because i'm not updating for a couple days so i can catch up on the chapters. muahahaha. i'm not even done with chapter 5 yet. its THAT long.

**Disclaimer:** haven't you read the last few chapters?

* * *

"_A couple of years and I'm a silhouette_

_My halo is broken now and I'm all that's left_

_I hate to disappoint but it's the way things went_

_I was bound to the things I did_

_And after what was said…."_

I was singing along with _The Coldest Heart_ at the top of my lungs as I pulled my dress over my head. I walked over to the mirror that hung on my closet door and carefully tied the straps behind my neck. I adjusted the dress on my hips, perfect. _Now, the hair._

Emily and I decided yesterday that it was time to finally do something about my sad excuse for a hair style. She cut it in long layers that flipped out a little at the end and gave me bangs that swept neatly to the right side of my face. And then we dyed it black and for fun put some blue chunks here and there. They would fade in about two weeks, but for now they were perfect. My hair looked amazing - if I could say anything without being biased. I pulled my brush through my now black and blue locks and then decided it was fine.

Next, makeup. I normally didn't wear much, but since today was a special occasion I decided to line my eyes with a little black eyeliner. When I was done, I stood in front of the mirror and admired my handiwork. I had to admit, I looked pretty awesome.

I glanced over at my alarm clock. Crap, I was late. Ugh! The maid of honor can't be late for her best friends wedding! Damnit.

I didn't even bother putting my heels on, I just grabbed them and chucked them on the passenger seat and started speeding down the street. I got to the church in La Push in record time. I was proud of myself.

I grabbed my shoes and starting running into the church. Jacob caught me when I tripped on the carpet that lined the entrance and without saying anything; he pointed me to the room where Emily was getting ready. I gave him a quick hug and hurried over to the room he pointed to.

"I'm here!" I announced, a little breathless, as I shoved the door open.

I heard Emily sigh with, what I imagined to be, relief. "Oh sweet Jesus, Bella. Where have you been?"

I smiled sheepishly and gave a little shrug. "I had to make sure I looked perfect."

She looked me over. "If you steal my thunder today, Bella, you will never hear the end of it. Now, help me zip this up." She turned around and I zipped up the back of the dress. I smoothed it out a little and then led her over to the full length mirror in the corner of the room.

"You look ravishing, Em." I smiled and wrapped my arms around her waist.

"I'm nervous," She turned around and looked at me like she was going to cry.

I put my hands on her shoulders. "Hey, this is the best day of your life. You're getting married to the man of your dreams. Don't be nervous. There's nothing to be nervous about anyway."

"Thanks," She smiled and looked a little relieved. I think she just needed to hear it being said out loud. "I love you, Bells."

I rolled my eyes and smiled back. "I love you too, Em. Now let's go get you married."

* * *

The reception was held on First Beach. We were lucky that this was one of the few days when it was actually sunny and a little warmer than usual. We set up a makeshift dance floor in the parking lot, and there were tables scattered everywhere. A buffet table was put on the edge of the sand and the lilies were placed everywhere. 

I was in my own little world when I heard the infamous glass clinking. Time for toasts.

I looked over at Jacob, who was standing up and holding a champagne flute in his hand. He cleared his throat. "Now, I know I'm not the best man, but I wanted to say a few words about Sam and Emily." He paused and looked down at the couple. "I've known these two practically my entire life, but it wasn't until recently that I really got to know them. The love that is shared between these two is a love that only comes along once in a lifetime. They're extremely lucky to have found each other. I just hope that someday I can find someone as amazing as Emily. You're a lucky guy Sam, don't let this one go." Jacob sat back down and everyone started clapping.

I stood up, and cleared my throat loudly. The clapping died down. "Well, where shall I start, hmm?" I laughed lightly and looked down at Emily and then looked back at the crowd. "Sam and Emily welcomed me into their lives with open arms. I haven't even known them for more than a year, but I feel like I've known them forever. They are honestly the cutest couple I have ever seen and that's saying a lot. I've seen some pretty cute couples in my day. Some one once told me that love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning. I think that statement is the epitome of Sam and Emily's relationship. They are love. You got yourself a good one, Em. Keep him close."

Sometime later I was sitting on a rock, looking out at the water, listening to _Accidentally in Love_ by The Counting Crows, and mouthing the words as I stared at the waves. The song was coming from the speakers that surrounded the dance floor, and it was fading away as the sound of the crashing waves over powered it. I continued sitting on the rock, preparing myself for the song Emily asked me to sing.

"You know, the parties that way," Jared came up behind me and pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

"I know you idiot. I'm not blind." I replied, not taking my eyes off the sea.

"You okay there Bella?" He sat down on the rock beside me.

"I'm fine," I spat. _Okay, that came out a little harsher than I intended. _

"I know it's hard for you," Jared wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

I looked at him and frowned. "You know nothing." He didn't. He didn't know how much it hurt to see two people completely happy and in love and I was here still mending my broken heart. He didn't know how hard it was for me to make that toast and actually sound happy while speaking.

"I know more than you think, sweetheart. Try and be a little happier, or at least fake it a little better. Okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded absentmindedly. "Whatever you say."

Jared pulled me up from the rock and started leading me back to the party. I decided not to fight against it since I knew nothing good would come from that. And I didn't feel like ruining the dress, either.

By the time we got over to the dance floor a Savage Garden song was playing. I think it was Truly Madly Deeply, but I couldn't be too sure.

"Jared, I can't dance." I said as he pulled me closer and started swaying to the music.

"That's okay, I can't either." He replied.

"Oh, well in that case," I shrugged and draped my arms around his neck.

When the music stopped and another song didn't come on, I knew it was time for me to sing the song. I sighed, took a deep breath and I dropped my arms from Jared's neck. He smiled at me encouragingly.

"Well, here goes nothing." I sighed again and made my way over to the stage.

The DJ handed me a microphone and I mouthed a quick 'thank you'. I turned around to face the crowd gathering on the dance floor.

"Okay, so as you all know I'm Bella and I was Emily's one and only brides maid," I said into the mike. I smiled as I spotted Emily. "She asked me to sing a song at the reception. And me being the push over that I am, said yes." I paused and waited for everyone to stop laughing. "So anyways, since I love Emily oh so much, I decided to pick the cheesiest, most awesome love song I could think of. You can't blame me though, right? I mean I'm the maid of honor, and Emily said she trusted my taste in music more than she trusted her own." I smiled. "Don't look at me like that, Em. You asked for this."

"So, without any further ado, here goes." I pulled the mike chord closer to me, and waited for the song to start.

"_We were strangers  
Starting out on a journey  
Never dreaming  
What we'd have to go through  
Now here we are  
And I'm suddenly standing  
At the beginning with you_

"_No one told me  
I was going to find you  
Unexpected  
What you did to my heart  
When I lost hope  
You were there to remind me  
This is the start…"_

I was getting gasps and a few encouagring cheers from the crowd. No one except the pack and Emily knew I could actually sing. Not even _him_, the asshole formerly known as Edward.

"_Life is a road  
And I want to keep going  
Love is a river  
I wanna keep flowing  
Life is a road  
Now and forever  
Wonderful journey…"_

I continued singing until the song was over, and politely waited for the cheers to die down. "I love you, Emily." I said smirking. "You're the best friend any girl could ask for."

She trotted over to the stage and pulled me down. "Thank you!" She shrieked and pulled me into the tightest hug I had ever received from her.

"You're welcome." I said, gasping for a breath when she finally let me go.

We danced and partied until twilight came and then we finally decided the reception needed to come to an official close. I stayed behind with Emily and Sam to say goodbye and thank everyone for coming.

"Well, I'm gonna head home," I said when the last people left. "You two will be alright, right?" I turned to face the happy couple.

"Yeah, thanks for everything Bella." Emily pulled me into another crushing hug.

When she let go, Sam said, "We couldn't have done this without you," He smiled and kissed me on the cheek.

"It," I blushed and smiled sheepishly. "was nothing. Really."

I waved goodbye and slipped into my car. Just as I pulled away, my cell phone started buzzing. I looked at the caller ID, it was Emily.

"Hello?" I asked, confused. Why was Emily calling me?

"I wanted to keep you company on your drive home," Emily said, answering my question for me.

"Don't you guys have to go to the airport?" I asked. "Hold on, let me put you on speaker, I can't hold the phone and shift at the same time." I pressed the speaker button. "Okay, so, where was I? Oh right, airport."

"Our flight doesn't leave until tomorrow morning." She replied.

"It's your wedding night, and you're calling me. Why?" I blinked a couple of times and turned onto the highway.

"Sam can wait the fifteen minutes it takes you to get home safely." She said. Gosh, she was such a mother.

"Um, okay then," I smiled. "What's up?"

We talked to until I got to Charlie's house. I sat in the car for a few extra minutes because Emily was telling me a story about something Sam did once.

I finally stepped out of the Mustang and started making my way to the front door. I took the call off speaker and pushed the phone to my ear.

"You're kidding. Sam actually did that? No way!" I shrieked and laughed into the phone as she finished the story. "Oh, hey I gotta go, I just got home. Have fun on your honeymoon, sweetie. Take a million pictures for me, okay? Yeah, I love you too, Em. Bye." I shut the tiny cell phone and pushed my key into the lock on the front door. Charlie wasn't home; I think he said something about a fishing trip the other day.

I opened the door and, me being the graceful person I am, tripped on the door jam and fell straight into the arms of one Edward Cullen.

* * *

_hehe. you guys hate me don't you? yeah, admit it._


	5. chapter 4: Unnexpected Visitor

**A/N:** yay! i'm updating!! woot!! You know what i don't get? when theres stories on here that are HORRIBLE, like seriously really bad but they get like 500 reviews, and then theres those brilliant stories that get like 20. i don't understand. i'm over exaggerating the review numbers but you catch my drift right?

**warning:** there is some slight language in this chapter. sorry, Sara. I had to. /

* * *

It took me a moment to register that I wasn't hallucinating and it really was Edward that caught me. I stood as quickly as I could, straightened out my dress, and stared at the man that left me nine months ago. What the hell was he doing here? He had no right to be here, in my house, looking as beautiful as he did. _Ugh! What am I thinking? He left you; you shouldn't be noticing how beautiful he is! God, Bella, you're supposed to hate him, remember?  
_

"Is that you Bella?" He asked, frowning a little. _Of course it's me, you idiot!_

"Get out," I whispered but I knew he could hear me.

He didn't respond. He just stood there staring at me and I stared back. I knew I had changed a bit in the last nine months, but seriously, he needed to stop looking at me like that. He needed to stop looking at me like he loved me. Maybe I was hallucinating. Maybe I fell asleep driving home and I got in an accident and I was laying dead on the freeway somewhere. _Ha, I could only wish._

"Get out," I repeated, a little louder now. The anger in my voice was so obvious I knew he couldn't miss it.

"No," He replied, shaking his head a little.

So maybe I wasn't hallucinating. Maybe this was just a really bad dream. Maybe I got home and just fell asleep as soon as I hit the mattress. This was a nightmare. Yes, of course. Definitely a nightmare. I wanted to pinch myself to make sure I was dreaming, but I knew Edward would think I was crazy and maybe even a little sadistic. But if this was a dream, then what did it matter? I shut my eyes momentarily, thinking that if it was a dream, I could just will him to go away. When I opened my eyes again, I had no such luck, he was still standing there.

"Get the fuck out of my house, Edward." A pang of guilt surged through me as I said this, but it needed to be said. I didn't even know why I was feeling guilty, I shouldn't have. He deserved to be treated the way I was treating him. He deserved to know how angry I really was.

"I'm not leaving Bella," He said calmly. You know, you'd think the one time I can't control my anger; he wouldn't be able to either. But no, it was like a complete role-reversal. I was the one with temper issues and he was the one trying to calm me down. I didn't like the situation at all. I didn't fit the angry bitch bit in the slightest. Or maybe I did, I couldn't know for sure.

"Fine, then I'm leaving." I turned on my heel and ran to my car, but he got there before me and was already sitting in the passenger seat. I slid into the driver's seat and slammed the door shut with a little more force than necessary.

"Edward, get out of the car." I sighed in frustration and pinched the bridge of my nose. I was getting a migraine. I could already feel the pounding in my head. I really didn't need this tonight; I already had a long enough day.

"I'm not moving until you talk to me like the decent human being I know you are." Oh, that was a burn. He did not just say that.

If anger wasn't going to work, then maybe a little begging. _Hm, let's give that one a try shall we?_ "Please?"

He shook his head. "No."

I sighed again and put my keys in the ignition. "Are you alone, or did everyone come back too?" I was giving up; I needed some assistance to get this guy out of my car and maybe even out of my life. _Do you really want him gone, Bella?_ The voice in my head asked. Ugh, stupid conscience, I really didn't need this right now.

"Everyone's back. Alice can't wait to see you," He said. I knew he thought that mentioning Alice would melt me, but it wasn't going to work; no matter how much I wanted to see my former best friend.

I shook my head and started the car. I pushed on the stereo, turned it up as loud as I could stand. I put my iPod on shuffle, and ironically, Atreyu's cover of _You Give Love a Bad Name_ started playing.

I wanted to laugh, but started speeding down the street instead. Edward was staring at me whole time. I think he was a little surprised that I was going almost a 120 mph and I got to his house in record time. I started having a little need for speed after Jacob taught me to ride a motorcycle and I wasn't going to drive slow now just to please my jerk of an ex-boyfriend. I wasn't his precious, weak little Bella anymore, and he needed to realize it.

Before I could even turn off the engine, Alice was opening my door and waiting for me to get out. I pulled off my seatbelt and stepped out of the car, preparing myself to be bombarded by four-foot-ten vampire that stood in front of me.

"Oh, Bella!" She screamed and threw her arms around me. I sighed and rolled my eyes. She noticed I wasn't hugging her back and pulled away. "Bella?"

I started chewing on the inside of my cheek. I didn't respond, I just pushed her out of the way and started walking toward the house. Rosalie was on the porch, looking from me to my Mustang, and then back to me again.

"Nice car," She breathed. Was that a compliment? Did Rosalie Hale just compliment my car? Was she even capable of giving compliments? Apparently so. Holy crap. I wasn't the only one who changed in the last nine months.

"Yeah, whatever." I rolled my eyes.

Rosalie looked at me, shocked. I never talked to her like that. The last time I saw her, I was practically afraid of her because I thought she hated me. I could care less about what Rosalie thought of me now. "Where's Emmett?" I asked, getting a little impatient.

"Uh…" Rosalie was speechless. Wow, I didn't think that was possible. "Inside."

I pushed passed her and opened the front door of the Cullen mansion. I hadn't been back here since they left, and it looked exactly the same as it did nine months ago. My memory hadn't failed me. I was suddenly hit with a wave of remorse that mixed in with my current anger and I a strange urge to start crying hysterically. But I didn't, I couldn't. Not now. I couldn't let the walls I fought so hard to build, crumble at the first sign of sadness. No, I wasn't that weak.

Emmett and Jasper looked up at me in surprise. They were sitting on the living room couch, probably watching TV. I wasn't sure if the shock in their expressions were from my appearance or the way I just treated their wives. I had no doubt in my mind that they knew what was going on.

I sighed and made my way over to them. "Do you mind removing your brother from my car so I can go home and forget about all of you?" I asked.

Jasper gaped at me; I knew he could sense the anger rolling off of me. I really didn't give a crap right now. All I wanted was to go home and sleep and maybe think about what I was going to do tomorrow. I didn't want to bother myself with these people.

"Wow, Bella, you've changed." Emmett stuttered.

I raised my hand to my mouth in mock surprise. "He speaks!" I said, rolling my eyes once again. "Could you get on with it, I don't have all night."

Emmett was off the couch and making his was to the front door in an instant. I smiled smugly and turned around to make my way back to my car. I barely got to the door when Alice rushed in and practically tackled me onto the entry way floor.

"What the fuck, Alice?!" I screamed. My headache was getting worse now. I stood back and rubbed my temples in a sad attempt to calm myself down. It wasn't working.

"Bella Swan! You will not use that language in my house!" Esme exclaimed making her way down the stairs.

Was it just me or were the Cullens were acting like they had never left, like they had been here the whole time? It disturbed me to no end that they thought they could come back into my life like nothing happened. Especially Edward. Ugh! Just thinking his name made me want to throw something at his stupid perfect face.

I turned to look at her and bowed my head. "Sorry, Esme," I apologized.

"Now, what's going on?" She took a step toward me but stopped when she saw the look on my face.

"Hm, let's see. I came home to find your son in my house, refusing to leave until he could talk to me. So I decided to leave him there and he jumped in my car and again, refused to move until I would talk." I sighed and began rubbing my temples again. "Just get him out of my car and I'll be on my way."

Suddenly Edward was in the house, standing next Alice as if he had been there the entire time. I had the overwhelming urge to punch him in the face. I almost did too, but I looked around to see every member of the family staring intently at me, and I was almost embarrassed by my potential actions. Almost being the key word in that statement.

"Thank you, Esme." I nodded my head in her direction. "I'll be going now," I pointed to the door and walked out without another word.

Before I shut the door behind me, I heard Edward say, "That did not go like I planned."

I laughed. "Yeah, no shit Sherlock," and cringed when I realized they could hear me.

* * *

I woke up the next morning to the sound of someone knocking on the door. God, he was relentless. I got myself out of bed without incident and pulled my hair into a messy bun before I made my way downstairs.

"What will it take for you to leave me alone?" I groaned, opening the door. I assumed it was Edward, but much to my surprise, Alice was standing in front of me. "Oh, sorry Alice, I thought you were Edward. Come in," I left the door open and made my way over to the kitchen to make some coffee. I knew I was going to need a lot of caffeine if I was going to make it through today.

I heard the door shut quietly and started making my coffee. "So, what's up?" I asked not looking up from my task.

"You've changed a lot more than I expected." She answered.

I laughed a little. "I seem to be getting that a lot lately." I turned on the coffee maker and finally turned around. Alice was sitting at the table, looking up at me with curious eyes.

"What happened to you, Bella?"

I pulled myself onto the counter and pulled my knees up to my chin. "Well, I'll start at the beginning. At my eighteenth birthday party I got a paper cut and then I was almost attacked by Jasper," Alice cringed. "And then Edward told me he didn't love me anymore and you all disappeared without a trace. If I remember correctly Edward's last words were 'it will be like I never existed'."

"Bella -" Alice began. I held up a hand to stop her.

"Let me continue. I fell into an awful depression; I was dead but still breathing. I was a walking corpse. I was nothing. And then I started hanging out with Jacob Black, and something clicked in my head that I didn't need to be sad. If Edward didn't love me, if he wanted me to live a normal human life, then that's what I was going to do. I thought I might as well not disappoint him." I shrugged. "And then I met Jared, Paul, Embry, Sam, and Emily. And they were like my new family. They helped me so much, and they protected me when Victoria came back to kill me."

Alice gasped. "Victoria came back?"

I nodded. "And Laurent too. You guys missed a lot while you were gone."

The coffee maker beeped and I jumped off the counter to grab a mug. "Hey, did you ever have a vision of me jumping off that cliff?"

"I had a lot of visions of you, Bella. But yes, I did see you jumping off the cliff, and you were holding Jacob Black's hand." She said.

"And you didn't tell Edward?" I frowned but was sort of relieved.

"I tried not too, but it was kind of hard to block that thought from him. He was furious, he wanted to come back right then and make sure you were okay." Alice explained. The relief was short lived.

"Why would he do that," I took a sip of coffee. "If he doesn't love me."

Alice frowned. "Edward loves you more than life itself, Bella. Why do you think he left in the first place? He thought you were in danger by being with him."

I laughed at this. "I'm always going to be in danger, Alice. If you haven't noticed I'm not the most graceful person to walk the earth. And why would he lie to me?"

"Yeah," Alice giggled. "You're not. But Edward wanted you to be happy, and he thought if he left, then you would be."

I almost started crying. Not because I just learned that Edward still loved me and lied to me and said he didn't, but because he wanted me to be happy, and I was the exact opposite of that for seven months.

"Does Edward think Jacob and I have a thing going on?" I asked changing the subject.

"Don't you?" She frowned.

I started laughing and then stopped abruptly. "Oh dear Lord, no. Hell, no." I emphasized. "Jake is my best friend. That's all."

"Well, that's a relief," She stood up from the table. "I better be going. Edward doesn't know I'm here, and he'll throw a fit if he finds out."

I smiled and put my empty coffee mug in the sink. I walked over and gave Alice a hug. "It's good to see you again. I'm sorry about yesterday."

Alice hugged me back. "Its fine, Bella. Edward shouldn't have surprised you like that. If I had known what your reaction would have been, I would have warned him."

I pulled away. "You should go. I don't want him getting mad at you."

"Come by the house sometime, I know Esme wants to see you again, she misses you. You know, I think I like this cocky side of you, Bella. It fits." She said and then disappeared.

I slumped into the chair closest to me and just broke down. For the first time in almost eight months, I was crying. It felt a little odd to say the least, but then again it felt good. I don't know how long I was sitting there sobbing like a child, but by the time I managed to get upstairs to my room, I had four missed calls on my cell phone. All from Jacob. Of course.

I dialed the familiar numbers and pressed the call button. After two rings he picked up.

"Bella? Where have you been? I've been so worried." He said quickly.

"Jake, calm down." I replied. "Sorry I didn't call earlier. I ran into some difficulties."

Jacob sighed. "Oh. Is this about those bloodsuckers coming back to town? Because if it is I can get Embry and Jared down there as soon as you want."

"They have names you know," I said. "And no, that won't be necessary Jacob. Can I come over for a bit, I need to get out of the house and I don't want to stay in Forks."

"Yeah, you know you're always welcome here."

"Okay, I'll be over in a little bit." I didn't wait for him to say bye, I just flipped the phone shut and threw it on my bed.

I quickly changed into a pair of jeans the first shirt I could find, which happened to be my Powerpuff Girls t-shirt. I smiled as I remembered the day I bought it with Paul and Jacob and threw it over my head. I didn't bother doing anything with my hair, it looked fine in the bun, but I wiped yesterday's makeup from under my eyes.

I shoved my feet into my converse and quickly made my way downstairs. I was putting my phone in my pocket as I opened the door and I walked straight into a brick wall – or so I wished.

I fell back a little and suddenly his strong grip was around my arms. "Ugh!" I said in frustration.

"Going out?" Edward asked.

"You have impeccable timing Mr. Cullen. And yes, I am going out." I said. I pushed passed him and started walking to the Mustang. I was staring dreamily at my wonderful car when _he_ just_ had_ to start talking again.

"Bella, wait." He grabbed my arm and whirled me around to face him.

I sighed and made a point of not looking at him, but that didn't last long. "Don't make me sick the werewolves on you."

He raised an eyebrow. "You still have no sense of self-preservation, Bella."

"Nope, guess not." I smiled. "Now, if you would so kindly give me my arm back, I have some friends waiting for me and they tend to get a little impatient if I'm late."

He let go, a little reluctantly but he did.

"Thank you." I said and jumped into my car. I had no idea why I was being the least bit civil to him. But I figured my actions last night were bad enough, and I didn't like seeing that pained look on his face. It didn't suit him.

As I started speeding down the street the last part of _All the Memories _by The Classic Crime was playing from the speakers.

"_Oh! All the memories we have.  
Framed in our minds like photographs. Take a second, take a second and make this last.  
Beware the future meets the past  
I could never fall in love again; i could never fall in love again!"_

As I stared at Edward's fading figure in my rear view mirror, I prayed to God that that last line was at least somewhat true.


	6. chapter 5: Slumber Party

**A/N:** thanks to all my reviewers, you guys rock my world. Thats all for today. Yep, i don't have much to say. surprise, surprise. ugh. i'm not feeling too well, thats why.

anyways, heres chapter 5

* * *

I took my time driving to La Push. I took back roads to make the trip longer, and I even drove at the speed limit for once. I managed to make my total driving time about twenty six minutes. That had to be a new record. Even in my truck it only took me fifteen. I should get an award for being the best at wasting time.

Jacob was waiting for me on his porch when I pulled up. He was standing next to Quil, and they were talking. I couldn't make out their words from the car, but by their expressions I knew the conversation wasn't a friendly one.

"What's up, guys?" I bounced up to the porch and stood in front of them. I was trying to lighten the mood, but it wasn't working too well.

A growl escaped Jacob's lips before he responded. "That stupid bloodsucker is back!"

"I know you don't like Edward, but sheesh, Jacob, the least you could do is call him by his name." I crossed my arms over my chest.

Another growl filled my ears, this time from Quil. I glanced over at him and then back to Jacob. What was up with them?

"I'm not talking about Edward." Jacob replied through clenched teeth.

I frowned. "Then who else is there?"

"Victoria," Quil answered before Jacob.

I slumped immediately; couldn't she get the hint already and just leave me alone? "Oh, her," I said.

"Yeah, her!" Jacob exclaimed. "She's on our territory and she's looking for you. And none of us are trackers, so we can't find her as easily. Tracking was always Sam's job. Without him, we're not going to get much accomplished." He looked like he was mentally scolding himself for allowing Sam to go on his honeymoon.

I stayed silent throughout Jacob's rant. Victoria was back, the Cullens decided to show up, and we were one werewolf short. The most important werewolf too. If I didn't know any better would say I was screwed at this point. I found it a little funny that now, of all times, my self-preservation was coming into effect. Not by much, but it was enough to cause me to panic a little. I would never outwardly admit that, though. Jacob would never let me live it down. I didn't even want to start thinking about what would happen if Edward found out.

"Bella, we can keep her on the reservation until Sam gets back, but we need you to stay away for a while. Can you do that for me?" Jacob said.

"Okay," I nodded.

Great, where was I going to go? I couldn't just stay at Charlie's house all day and hope I'd be entertained. I got bored very easily these days, and being cooped up in a house all day by myself wouldn't help the situation any. I had no friends in Forks, either. After Edward left and I started hanging out with Jacob, La Push was my only social zone. And I think Mike Newton was the only one who I used to hang out with that hadn't left for college yet. I was definitely not going to hang out with him; he still hit on me and it was a little too disturbing for my taste.

"Thank you," Jacob pulled me into a big bear – or is it wolf? – hug.

"Driving over here was such a waste of time, then." I sighed, what a waste of gas.

"No it wasn't. You got to see me for a few minutes, at least." He said, smiling smugly. "We won't be seeing each other for a while."

"Loser," I laughed and playfully punched his arm but then my expression turned serious. "You'll keep her here, right? So at least I'm somewhat safe in Forks."

"Somewhat?" Quil piped, eyebrows raised curiously.

"Didn't you hear? The Cullens are back and they've taken a liking to stalking me."

Quil nodded his head. "Oh, that. Yeah, I heard."

"I can still send Jared and Embry to rough them up a bit," Jacob offered.

"I can go too," Quil raised an arm to make sure I noticed him.

"No," I laughed. "I can handle them. But thanks anyway."

I hugged Jacob again and then hugged Quil. I waved goodbye from my car and proceeded to make my way back to Forks. I had no idea what I was going to do with the rest of my day. Charlie was supposed home, maybe we could hang out.

I took the same route as before and somehow my driving time was thirty minutes this time around. I pulled up to Charlie's house and expected to see his cruiser in the driveway, but it wasn't there. Instead, Rosalie's BMW was parked in my fathers spot. _They really are stalking me, aren't they?_

I groaned and jumped out of the car. Rosalie was standing patiently at the front door.

"What is it with you people and showing up uninvited? And where's my dad?" I wondered aloud as I walked passed her to unlock the door.

Rosalie waited to answer me until we got inside. "Alice took him out to an early dinner, and we don't show up uninvited." I frowned at this. "Okay, maybe we do, but it's only because you don't invite us, so we have to take matters into our own hands."

I sat down at the kitchen table and stared up at Rosalie. "Why are you being so nice to me?" I asked.

She smiled. "Because you're actually standing up for yourself for once."

I was confused. "Huh?" I managed. Did she just admit to actually being nice to me? And she wasn't doing it for Edward's sake? Who was this woman and what happened to Rosalie Hale?

She shook her head and sat in the chair across from me. "You were always so shy, Bella. It annoyed the hell out of me. I was only mean to you because I wanted to see if you could actually say something back. I never hated you, just to make that clear. Nine months without Edward really did a number on you, I like it."

"Alice said almost the exact same thing this morning." I said.

"Yeah, she told me about that. You know, Edward's out hunting right now, if you want to go to the house and see Esme." Rosalie lifted herself from the chair and extended a hand in my direction. "Come on, Alice and Charlie won't be back for a while anyway."

I merely shrugged and let her pull me up from my seat. She didn't let go of my hand, but led me to her car. We sat silently as she sped toward her house.

Esme was standing on the porch when we arrived. Was this planned? It _had_ to have been planned. Of course it was; everything that had to do with me and the Cullens was.

Rosalie didn't wait for me to exit the car, and I barely registered that she disappeared into the house. Esme beckoned me over and I slowly emerged from the BMW. When I finally reached her, she pulled me into a motherly hug that seemed to last forever and a day. I didn't mind, I missed hugging Esme, she was like a surrogate mother to me.

When she finally pulled away I said, "I'm so sorry about yesterday, Esme."

"Oh, don't be silly, Bella. It's perfectly fine." She replied and started leading me into the house.

"Are you sure? I was pretty rude." I winced at the memory.

Esme just shook her head and sat me down at the dining room table. "You had every right to be. I had a very long talk with Edward after you left. That boy knows nothing about women." She sighed.

I smiled at the thought of Edward not knowing anything about women. You'd think that a guy who could read minds would know a little more about the female species than a normal male. Obviously he didn't if he thought I would forgive him on the spot. He was so clueless sometimes.

"Anyway, how have you been, Bella? I've missed you so much!" She took one of my hands and cupped it in both of hers.

"I've been… okay, I guess." I said. I didn't really want to get into specifics. I didn't want Esme feeling bad for me or anything. It wasn't her fault that I fell apart when they left. It wasn't her fault for leaving, either.

"Well, that's to be expected, I suppose," Esme sighed again. I was glad she didn't want any further explanation on my mental status.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can, dear." She looked at me expectantly.

"Do you mind, if I hang out around here during the days, for like a week or so?" I asked.

Esme smiled warmly. "You know you're always welcome here, Bella. But may I ask why?"

I sighed and began explaining. "Well, I don't know if Alice told you, but while you were gone, Victoria came back and is hunting me." Her eyes widened, _okay Alice needs to start telling people things. Oh well._ "Sam and his pack managed to chase her into Canada but apparently she's back and she's in La Push. Jacob said he can keep her there until Sam gets back, but I need to stay away for a while, and I have no where else to go."

"You're so calm about this, Bella. It's very unsettling." Esme said.

I shrugged. "Well, when you get attacked by one vampire and then have another vampire break your heart and then have a revenge driven vampire stalking you and…." I paused, ticking everything off on my fingers. "Wait, I'm missing something, here. Oh! Right, there was Laurent too!" I smiled and nodded my head; I was proud that I remembered everything. "So that's one vampire attack, one vampire stalker and an almost vampire attack. Yeah, I think that's about it. You kind of learn to laugh at danger after all that. Or at least not think about it too much."

Esme stared at me, wide-eyed, the shock written all over her face. "You are definitely not going home tonight, Bella." She whispered.

I raised an eyebrow and was about to reply when Alice came running into the room and pulled me into a hug. "I already told Charlie, he isn't expecting you to be home until tomorrow night." She said.

I blinked a couple times, registering in my mind what Alice just said. "Um, okay." I breathed.

Alice let me go and then started jumping up and down. "Oh!" She squeaked. "We're going to have so much fun tonight!"

The smell of brewing coffee and cooking food filled my lungs and I was getting hungrier by the second. I hadn't eaten all day, and I felt like I would faint if I didn't get some sugar in me.

Esme was humming happily to herself as she moved about the kitchen. I was glad that cooking made her happy, because she would be doing just that for the next week or so.

Alice and I were sitting in the dining room, which was now covered with every board game the family owned. We were currently playing Yahtzee, and I was actually winning, but only by a little. Alice was doing her best to ignore her visions, but there was only so much she could do, and visions didn't really help with this game, that's why I chose it in the first place.

"Hey, Alice?"

"Yeah, Bella?" Alice replied while shaking the dice in the cup.

"Would you mind doing me a little favor?"

"Yeah, no problem." She threw the dice on the table.

I smiled. "Could you not tell Edward about the whole Victoria thing? He's got anger issues and I'm not sure if we would be able to stop him from doing something completely stupid if he found out."

Alice nodded. "You're absolutely right. Edward has major anger problems." She giggled. "And don't worry, I won't tell him. I'm not _that_ dumb."

My stomach gave a monstrous growl just as Esme was walking in the room with a huge plate and mug in her hands. She set them down in front of me and said, "Be careful, it's hot." She promptly handed me a fork.

"You really didn't have to do this," I said, digging into the food. "Oh my goodness, Esme, this is amazing!"

She smiled. "Why thank you, Bella."

I was half-way through my meal when Alice jumped out of her seat and ran out of the room._ What was that about?_ I looked over at Esme curiously for the answer.

"The boys are home." She stated.

I nodded my head in response and continued eating. Esme disappeared from the room after that and I was left alone. I heard Emmett come running through the front door and go straight up the stairs to his and Rosalie's room. I was really glad I couldn't read minds right about now. Poor Edward, how he managed to tune out his family's dirty thoughts was beyond me.

"Bella?" Edward's voice filled the house._ Well, speak of the devil._ His tone was a mix of curiosity and… hesitation, I think. I wondered how he knew I was here. He either smelled me, read Alice's thoughts, or Alice just flat out told him. I was fairly certain that it was all three. Either way, Edward knew I was here, and I was going to have to deal with him all night, especially since I knew I wouldn't be sleeping any time soon.

"In here," I called. I knew full well that Edward would be able to place my voice almost instantaneously, if not sooner.

Edward was in the room before I could even register that I finished speaking. I really had to get used to the whole 'inhuman movements' thing, again. Werewolves were fast, but only when they were in wolf form, so I wasn't exactly used to sudden movements anymore.

"So, how was hunting?" I asked casually and took a sip of coffee.

"It was…fine," he replied, eyeing me curiously. "What are you doing here?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What, a girl can't visit her favorite vampire clan? I'm ashamed of you, Edward. I thought you would have more common sense than that."

"No, seriously," he pressed. "What are you doing here?"

I smiled at his determination. "I can't go to La Push for a while, and I need somewhere to stay." I took another sip. "And Esme won't let me go home tonight."

"Well, I'll have to thank her for that," He said.

I ignored him and went back to finishing my food. When I was done, I made a move to take my plate back to the kitchen but it was already in Edward's hands.

"You really don't have to do that," I mumbled.

"Yes, I do. Now, are you done with that mug or do you want me to refill it for you?" He pointed at the empty mug in my hands and I shook my head.

"One cup is enough." I handed it to him. "I'm gonna be up till two in the morning anyway."

I noticed then that Edward had already discarded the dishes in the kitchen and was sitting across from me now. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"You know how I react to caffeine." I stated.

"Esme didn't give you de-caf?" He frowned. I shook my head once again. "Great, you'll be bouncing off the walls all night long."

"Hey!" I pouted. "I'm not that bad."

"Yeah, well _you_ didn't have to calm you down after that unfortunate incident with the double shot espresso." He retorted.

"I thought we weren't ever going to mention that again." I growled.

Edward laughed and threw up his hands. "Hey, you asked for it."

"Bella!" Alice's musical voice called.

"Yeah, Alice?" I called back.

She paused for a moment. "Never mind!"

I looked at Edward for an answer to what just happened but he just stared at me with an amused expression.

"Alice wants us to spend some alone time together." He informed.

"Oh, peachy." I grumbled. I looked down at the table and started doodling on my Yahtzee score card.

Edward stayed silent for a while and I was starting to think that this was probably the most awkward silence I had ever been involved in. I kept doodling on the paper until almost everything was covered in pencil markings. I sighed, crumbled up the paper and tossed it across the table.

"Am I stuck hanging out with you the whole night?" I asked finally breaking the silence.

Edward frowned and looked a little distracted for a second before answering. "No…wait, yes." I was realizing faster and faster how planned this night seemed to be. _Stupid Alice and her stupid visions. _I was really going to have to have a talk with that girl.

"Bella, I think we need to talk," Edward looked down at his hands, nervously. I had never seen Edward nervous and I had to admit, it was kind of cute.

"Isn't that what we're doing right now?" I lifted an eyebrow.

"No, well, yes. But I mean, I think we need to seriously talk. About us and our situation."

I nodded my head. "I wasn't aware that there was any 'us' per say, but I guess we do have a situation."

Edward looked at me with that pained expression I hated to see on his face. I mentally cringed at the thought that I was the one who was causing it, and I felt the urge to comfort him. But I couldn't, I was supposed to be standing my ground here. I was supposed to be strong. I wasn't supposed to be crumpling when he dazzled me with those eyes – oh god – those beautiful eyes. _No! Bella snap out of it!_

"Bella, I lied to you."

"About…?" I was playing dumb, I knew what he was getting at, but I wanted to hear from his mouth. I wanted to be sure that what Alice had told me was true. I wanted to hear him say he loved me, I didn't know what that would accomplish but I wanted to hear it nonetheless.

Edward sighed and fumbled with his hands. I'd never seen him so nervous in all the time I knew him, and it was really making him more beautiful – if that was even possible. "I love you, Bella. I never stopped loving you."

"So you did lie to me." I nodded my head slowly and tried to keep my eyes from meeting his. I didn't think I could resist him if he were to dazzle me. No, I was adamant that I wouldn't be able to resist him.

"That's all you have to say?" He asked.

I sighed and looked down at my hands. "What do you expect Edward? Do you expect me to tell you I still love you and I forgive you for leaving me when I needed you the most? Do you expect everything to go back to the way it was, because that's not going to happen, Edward. It's not. You don't understand how much you affected me when you left, I was a shell. I was nothing, and you did that to me. How can I forgive you for that? How can I love you and trust that you won't just decide to leave again? I can't."

He visibly winced. "I'm sorry," he said. If vampires could cry, I think he would be crying right now. I didn't blame him, I wanted to cry too.

In that moment, I knew this night was going to be a lot longer than I had originally planned.


	7. chapter 6:Long Nights & Even Longer Days

**A/N:** i'd like to thank **art of pretension** for unconsciously giving me the idea for a part in this chapter. please don't hate me for using it.

i hope you guys like this chapter, its the longest i've written so far. ten pages on microsoft word, dude thats a lot. hehe.

**Disclaimer:** don't own it. or New Years day, or Racal Flatts...yeah i think thats it.

* * *

I got a little uncomfortable sitting in the same room with Edward so I decided to go upstairs to see if Alice and Jasper weren't too predisposed to hang out with me for a while.

"Alice?" I tapped lightly on her bedroom door.

I heard a crash and a couple mumbles and then the door opened and Alice slipped out of the room. I eyed her curiously but then I realized I really didn't want to know what just happened.

"Sorry," I apologized.

Alice clicked her tongue. "Don't be silly, Bella. You weren't interrupting anything…important."

"Um," I tried not to laugh at the embarrassed look on her face. "Okay."

"Now, what did you want?" She asked.

"Oh, right," I suddenly remembered why I had come up here in the first place. "I didn't bring any clothes with me, and I was hoping I could borrow something from you."

Alice giggled. "That's already covered."

I frowned. "Excuse me?"

"You brought clothes. Well, I did, when I told Charlie that you were staying the night. I even packed your iPod since Charlie said you can't seem to live without it these days," She smiled and then disappeared into her room for a second and reappeared again holding my duffel bag out for me to take.

"Thanks Alice. I don't know what I would do without you," I smiled.

"I don't think you'd be able to function," She shook her head sarcastically.

"No," I agreed, smiling even wider now. "I don't think I would."

Alice pointed me down the hall to one of the bathrooms so I could change into some more comfortable clothes. I knew she wanted me to be in pjs so that eventually I would go to sleep, but I wasn't going to let that happen. There was no way I was sleeping tonight, I was determined. I changed into my usual sleep attire anyway and then made my way back downstairs.

Edward was playing the piano but I ignored him and went straight to the living room couch where I sat down pulled out my iPod. I pulled my legs onto the seat and started playing my favorite New Years Day song. I turned up the volume to a point where I could still here when someone spoke to me, but it drowned out the noise of the piano.

"_I'll always have a sunrise.  
I'll always have a sunset.  
I'll always have the ocean, to help deal with these emotions.  
And there'll always be a highway that's running through the desert in Southern California, but all I really want is you."_

Before I knew it was singing along with the song and drumming my fingers on my knees. I was sort of embarrassed that Edward could here me singing but part of me wanted him to hear, I didn't know why.

"_You'll always have your sunrise.  
You'll always have your sunset.  
And I know you need some time alone, even though it's selfish.  
I pray to God you keep in mind this broken heart you left behind in Southern California."_

I snuck a glance in Edward's direction and noticed that he had ceased playing and was listening intently to the song. I knew that with his vampire hearing he could hear my iPod as well as I did, but I think he was focused more on my voice. I remembered then that he had never heard me sing.

"_All I really want is you.  
There'll always be a hole in my heart that's shaped just like you, and there'll always be a empty space in everything that I do, but I'll always have this voice that I can sing until the day I die, in Southern California."_

I stopped singing at this point and just listened to the rest of the song. I stared down at my iPod and watched the seconds tick by. They were going so slow it was almost agonizing to watch. It made me realize how slow time really was.

My playlist was on shuffle and the second song that came on was What Hurts The Most by Rascal Flatts. Normally, I hated country music, with a passion, but there was something about that song that just made me love it. Maybe it was the fact that it reminded me of Edward. I couldn't know for sure. I blamed Sam; he was the one who made me listen to the song in the first place.

I hadn't notice that Edward was sitting next to me until he was pulling out one of my ear buds.

"Hey! I was listening to that!" I frowned and went to grab the ear bud but Edward caught my arm instead.

"I didn't know you could sing," He said. He was side stepping my complaint, and it was really making me mad.

"I'm not completely talent-less, Edward. And I'm sorry you heard that. I tend to get carried away when I listen to music."

He laughed and shook his head. "You don't have to be sorry, I like listening to you sing. Your voice is beautiful."

I narrowed my eyes in his direction. "Are you trying to butter me up for something?"

"Me?" He looked shocked. "_No_, I would never try to manipulate you, Bella."

I started laughing. "You're such a bad liar."

"Only with you."

"Who's up for games?" Emmett screeched as he bounded down the stairs with Rosalie in tow.

I smiled at the sudden distraction and shook Edward off of my arm. "I am!" I said trying to sound as happy as I possibly could. It wasn't that hard to fake. I would gladly take anything that distracted me from Edward.

Emmett disappeared into the dining room and came back carrying Monopoly, Battleship, a deck of cards, and Guess Who.

"What do you want to play first?" He asked directing the question to me.

"Hm," I thought for a moment. "Battleship," I smiled, nodding my head quickly.

* * *

"C-4," I said thoughtfully. I was staring down at my side of the board, looking at each of my ships. Emmett had already sunk one of my destroyers and was on the verge of sinking another. He wasn't doing too well, considering I had only one shot to go and I would win.

By this time, the entire Cullen family was crowded around us, watching intently as I, a mere human, beat Emmett at a game that I hadn't played since I was twelve. I had to admit, I was getting a very big ego boost from this.

I heard Emmett groan. "No!" He cried.

I looked up. "What?" I asked.

"You sunk my battle ship," He grumbled.

I smiled smugly. "Excuse me, I didn't catch that," I really had, but I wanted to hear him say it louder. I was rubbing it in, I knew. But how many times do you get to say you beat a vampire at Battle ship? Not often. I was going to milk this for all it was worth. "What did you say?"

"YOU SUNK MY BATTLE SHIP, BELLA! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!" He screamed. Oh yes, this was definitely an ego boost.

I started laughing hysterically. "Yes Emmett, I am very happy now."

"Alright!" Alice interjected before Emmett could do anything to retaliate. "Who's up for some cards?"

About four or five rounds into Go Fish everyone decided that Edward winning every time was an unfair advantage. We moved onto Monopoly after that.

Rosalie and Edward spent five minutes fighting over who got to be the race car. I sat back watching the two fight like they were a bunch of spoiled children. It was quite amusing to see them acting so immature. I almost didn't want to break it up, but then I glanced at a clock and I realized my caffeine high was only going to last about another forty-five minutes, and I wanted to get some playing time in before then.

"You know what?" I said, grabbing the game piece. "I get to be the race car."

"Thank you, Bella!" Alice said, shooting daggers at her brother and sister. "They fight like that every time we play."

Esme and Alice set up the pieces and then took their respective seats around the coffee table.

"Who wants to go first?" Alice asked. "Carlisle, would you do the honors?"

Carlisle took the dice and shook them in his hand a couple times before letting them go on the board. He landed on a railroad, but decided not to buy it.

We went around the circle and everyone got lost in the game. Everything felt so natural, like we played Monopoly every Tuesday night. It felt like a family tradition. I liked it; it felt like I belonged even though I wasn't with Edward anymore. I was glad we weren't _too_ uncomfortable around each other; it made socializing with his family much easier.

I ended up buying the Boardwalk and Illinois Ave. Edward wasn't too happy about that, he seemed be unlucky about landing on those two properties, but he didn't have to pay much because I didn't put any hotels on them yet. I think he was happy about that fact.

Half-way through the game, I could feel myself getting more and more tired. I was determined to stay awake though and I think Jasper could feel it because he kept sending curious glances my way.

I finally gave in enough to yawn and everyone looked at me. "Sorry," I said but ended up yawning again. _Dang it, stupid humanity, why can't you just _go_ away?_

"We should let you go to sleep," Alice started.

"No! I'm not tired, I swear." I lied. All of a sudden I could feel myself getting sleepier and sleepier, but I decided to fight it. I knew where the sudden exhaustion was coming from. I sent Jasper a glare. "That is so not cool, Jasper."

"You really need to sleep, Bella." He replied in his defense.

I fought as long as I could but when I finally gave up, the last thing I remembered was Edward picking me up from the couch. The dreams started a little bit after that.

* * *

I woke up the next morning with a bad headache which I assumed was from all the coffee I consumed yesterday. I suddenly remembered how I ended up asleep. "So not cool," I mumbled. _Jasper was definitely getting a piece of my mind when I saw him next._

"What was that?" Edward's voice caused me to jump a little. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

I yawned and sat myself up. I was on Edward's couch with a heavy blanket draped over me. Edward was standing by his stereo staring down at me with that crooked smile on his face that I loved so much.

"This is awkward." I rubbed the remaining sleep from my eyes.

"How do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, I'm waking up in my ex-boyfriends room and he's staring at me and being way too beautiful for his own good and its making me very uncomfortable." I slapped my forehead. "Did I just say that all out loud?"

"You think I'm beautiful?"

"This is all your fault," I said.

"How so?" He frowned.

"You were always asking me what I was thinking, so I got in the habit of voicing my thoughts," I shrugged. "I guess I never stopped after you left." As if on cue, my stomach started growling. I shut my eyes and groaned, then fell back on the couch.

"Let's get you some breakfast. Esme has been cooking all morning." Edward made a move to pick me up but I stopped him.

"I have two legs, I'd like to use them," I said.

Edward looked embarrassed. "Sorry, I guess I'm just so used to carrying you everywhere."

I laughed and shook my head. "I do recall that it was always against my wishes,"

I stood up and started making my way out of the room. Edward was right behind me the entire time, probably to make sure I wouldn't trip.

As I entered to the dining room, Esme was placing a plate full of pancakes on the table.

"That is a lot of food," I gaped and sat down.

"You're looking a little thin for my taste, Bella. Now eat; we need to get some meat back on those bones." Esme shoved a fork in my hand and pushed the plate closer.

"You're just lucky you're food is delicious, or I would be arguing with you right now," I shook my head and took a bite.

After breakfast I went back upstairs to take a shower and change for the day. I made a point of avoiding Edward's room, even though I knew he wasn't in there.

As I opened the bathroom door, I was met by Rosalie. Her sudden appearance startled me a little and it took a second to get my heart rate under control again.

"Will you come outside with me; I want to talk to you for a bit," She asked.

"Um," I looked confused. "You're not going to try to kill me in the woods or anything are you?"

"No," She grinned. "We're going out to the garage so I can work on my car."

"Oh, all right then." I let her lead the way.

We walked at a human pace - for my benefit only - to the huge garage that held all the Cullen cars. I followed Rosalie until she stopped at a car I didn't recognize. It must have been new.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I looked around and saw a work table up against a wall. I pulled myself up and sat on the edge, swinging my legs beneath me.

Rosalie walked over to a tool box and began scrounging around for something. "I wanted to ask you about Edward."

"What about him?" I started chipping the nail polish off my fingers.

"Are you going to take him back?"

I watched her walk over to the car and slide her body under the frame. "Um," was all I managed to say.

Rosalie ignored me and started ranting. "I think you should, he's still head over heels in love with you and you're the only thing that seems to make him happy. I hate seeing him hurt, you have no idea how hard it was for me over the last nine months. I had to go hide out in Africa with Emmett most of the time. It was all I could do not to yell at him or make him come back here and ask for your forgiveness. He beat himself up everyday, Bella. He wouldn't talk to anyone, he threw out all his music because it all reminded him of you. When Edward's not with you, he loses all the light from his eyes. He's nothing without you. You have to forgive him, okay? Even if you don't forgive him anytime soon, just do it eventually. I don't know if you've noticed, but it kills him not to have you in arms."

I didn't know how far into Rosalie's speech I started crying, but I did. I couldn't stop it. I wished I didn't believe that Edward was in as much pain as I was during our separation. But I did, because I knew how much he loved me, no matter how ridiculous it was. It never made sense for him to love me; I wasn't special in any way. I didn't know how I could intrigue someone such as Edward.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry," Rosalie's voice came from under the car.

"Its okay," I sniffled. "Its not you're fault, really."

"Edward's looking for you. You should go inside before he freaks out."

I wiped the tears from my cheeks and slid off the work table. "You really think I should take him back?" I asked.

"Yeah, I know how much you still love him, Bella. He's going to win you back, whether you want him to or not."

I didn't say anything more; I just walked out of the garage and made my way back to the house.

I walked into the house and was immediately bombarded by Edward. "Where were you?"

"Um, in the garage," I pointed behind me. "With Rosalie."

"She didn't hurt you did she?" He asked, checking for bruises or broken bones.

"No," I laughed. "We were talking."

Edward looked down at me and frowned. "You and Rosalie…were…talking?"

"Is that so hard to believe?"

He nodded. "Yes, as a matter of fact, it is."

"What? I can't be friends with both of your sisters? Fine," I threw up my hands. "I get it."

"No, that's not what I meant…" Edward sighed in frustration.

"I was being sarcastic, you know," I moved passed him and sat down on the living room couch. "Hey, do you know what time it is?"

"Its 2:45, why?"

I shrugged. "Just wondering. Have you read Rosalie's mind recently?"

"No, she's blocking me out. Do you know why?" he came and sat down beside me.

"I might, but I'm not telling you." I smiled.

"And why not?" he inquired.

"Because it's none of your business Mr. Cullen," I replied.

"Don't call me that, it makes me feel old."

"Aren't you almost a hundred and ten?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Well," he started. "Yes…but…"

I laughed. "See, I can call you Mr. Cullen."

"Fine," he huffed. "You're so frustrating sometimes."

I laughed even harder. "I could say the same for you."

Alice bounced into the room with a wide grin on her face. I eyed her curiously, and wondered why she seemed so happy. I looked back and forth between her and Edward. They seemed to be having a conversation but I couldn't hear a word they were saying.

"Um, hello?! Human in the room, can't hear you," I waved my arms around to get their attention. It didn't work. "Hello?" I tried again. Nothing. Man, what a tough crowd.

Edward started growling all of a sudden and looked over at him, shocked. I saw that his eyes weren't anywhere close to being black, so I knew he wasn't angry, but I still wanted to know why he was growling.

"Edward?" I looked at him, worried.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to let it slip. I swear." Alice rushed over and pulled me up from the couch and into a hug.

"What are you sorry about? I'm confused."

She pulled away and cringed a little. "I had a vision, of you and Jacob."

I was still confused, "So?"

"He was hugging you, and you know how Edward sort of thinks you and him have a thing… and well…yeah."

I looked at Alice and then down at Edward and burst out laughing. "You have got to be kidding me."

"You mean, you're not dating him?" Edward looked up at me.

"No!" I scoffed. "How gross would that be? It'd be like dating my brother. That's disgusting Edward, you really need to stop assuming things."

Alice had left the room without me noticing. _They really needed to stop doing that._

"I should really get myself home," I stared down at my feet.

Edward was up in a flash. "I'll drive you."

"You don't have to," I said.

"No, I don't want you walking."

I shrugged. "Okay, whatever."

The drive to Charlie's house was a little awkward, but I managed to not think about it too much. I was honestly thinking about Jacob, I was worried about him. I hadn't heard anything from him since I left yesterday, and I didn't know if he was okay or not.

"Bella," Edward interrupted my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I looked over at him.

"Will you go out with me, on Saturday night?"

"Huh?" Excuse me? Did I hear that right? Was Edward asking me out on a date?

"Will you go to dinner with me, on Saturday?" He repeated.

"Um," I paused. "Sure, I guess."

He beamed and I couldn't help but smile back. It was nice to see him smile, that solemn look did nothing for him.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I opened the door, grabbed my duffel bag and stepped out.


	8. chapter 7: Date?

**A/N:** so i'm really sorry for not responding to your reviews on the last chapter. i didn't get any emails so yeah. i've noticed that happens alot during the weekend.

anyways, i have some slight writers block so if the next few chapters suck, i'm sorry.

oh! and i've never actually, truly been on a date so i'm not really sure how it goes. i tried my best. please be nice with the reviews.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Twilight or Blink-182. even though i wish i did.

* * *

The week passed by in a blur. I spent every day at the Cullens, trying desperately to avoid Edward for fear of me being uncomfortable. I could care less if he was; I only cared about me – selfish yes, but he deserved it. It worked out most of the time because he basically locked himself in his room, which I was fine with. The third story of the Cullen household was very easy to avoid. 

I mostly hung out with Emmett and Alice, but sometimes Rosalie would drag me out to the garage and teach me something about cars and how to make them cooler than they already were (her words, not mine). Esme took to teaching me new recipes to cook for Charlie, which was fun. I loved cooking lessons with Esme, the woman had a wicked sense of humor – I know, who would've thunk it? Emmett kept trying to beat me at Battleship, but gave up after five consecutive rounds where I won every time. The ego boosts just kept coming with him. I felt bad for the guy…sort of.

By the time Saturday rolled around, I had almost forgotten that I had a date with Edward that night. I was tempted to just cancel, but I knew Alice and Rosalie would be furious with me, Rosalie especially. She was particularly bent on Edward and me getting back together.

Why did I say yes in the first place? Wasn't I supposed to be mad at Edward? Wasn't I supposed to be making him work for my forgiveness? I was confused; this wasn't the way things were supposed to happen. I wanted Edward to beg on his knees for me to take him back. I wanted him to go to extremes, and come up with witty scenarios for me so I could fall madly in love with him all over again. But instead, he was taking me out to dinner. How..._normal_.

Going out on a date with him wasn't bad, was it? I mean, I didn't forgive him yet, I just agreed to go out with him. It was just casual dating. Yes, casual dating. I could live with that. I could, right? Oh God, I was starting to doubt my ability to keep him at a distance. Not good. _Be strong, Bella. Be strong._

"It's time to get you ready, Bella!" Alice exclaimed at exactly 6 pm.

I groaned. "Do I have to?"

She nodded. "Yep, now come on."

Alice didn't even bother waiting for me to get up from the couch; she just threw me over her shoulder and ran to her bedroom. Rosalie was already in the bathroom setting out every make up tool known to man. I cringed.

"Is all of that necessary?" I pointed to the counter.

Rosalie shrugged. "It's better to be safe than sorry." Alice nodded in agreement and shoved me down into a chair.

I could hear the pair deliberating on what do with my hair. I didn't get most of the conversation but I caught them fighting between curling and straightening. When I felt the straightening iron being pulled through my hair, I was slightly thankful. Curls just weren't my thing.

Twenty minutes later I was being forced to shut my eyes and sit perfectly still. I couldn't be sure what color – or colors - of eye shadow was being dispensed onto my lids, but I really hoped it weren't bright and cheery. I didn't think I could deal with that. The thought of bright pink eye shadow filled my mind and I suppressed a shudder.

"Okay, open," Rosalie said. I obeyed, and she studied my face for a second. "Perfect," she smiled, and shut the eye shadow case. It wasn't pink, thank god.

Alice came from behind the chair to look at me, too. She stared at me, wide-eyed. The shock was clearly written all over her face.

"What?" I asked, getting a little self-conscious.

"You look…amazing." She breathed.

"Can I go look then?" I pointed to a mirror in the corner of the room.

They nodded in unison and I lifted myself from my seat. I walked over to the mirror and stared at myself. It took me a second to recognize the girl in front of me, but I still couldn't believe she was me. She was gorgeous. Her black and blue hair was straight; the layers and side bangs framed around her face perfectly. She only had eye make up. It had a smoky effect to it that brought out her eyes.

"Is…." I pointed in between the mirror and myself. "Is that…me?"

Rosalie started laughing a little and Alice just smiled wide and nodded.

"Let's go get you dressed," Rosalie suggested. All I could do was nod in agreement and follow the duo into Alice's bedroom.

On her bed, was a pair of jeans, a black knit tank top with a navy blue tank underneath, and a navy wool military coat. I stood in front of the bed looking at the amazing clothes before me. Alice would never be caught dead buying clothes like this. Well, for herself anyway.

"Where did you get this?" I asked, finally looking up at Alice.

She just shrugged. "Urban Outfitters. I wasn't sure you would wear anything I bought you now, so I got something I knew you would love," She cocked her head to the side. "I think it'll look perfect on you."

"Well, you're right about one thing. I do love it," I smiled. I suddenly remembered that I had to change. I grabbed the outfit, minus the jacket, and made my way back to the bathroom.

I pulled on the jeans, they fit perfectly. Of course I knew they would, but still, they were the best fitting jeans I had worn in months. I quickly put on the tank tops and checked myself in the mirror and then walked back into Alice's room.

I was immediately bombarded by Alice, who was smiling wider than I ever thought possible.

"Bella, you look so beautiful!" She squealed happily.

I grinned. "Thanks, but do you really think this is appropriate for a date?"

"For yours it is," Rosalie answered and handed me my converse. I didn't question her answer, even though I wanted to. What did Edward have in mind for us tonight anyway? I went over to the bed to put on my shoes.

I looked at the alarm clock on the bed side table, it read 6:58. Time to go. I was dreading leaving the room now, but before I knew it, I was being shoved out the door and down the hall.

I slowly walked down the stairs to the living room where Edward was waiting. He was sitting on the couch, his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped together. He was leaning forward and his eyes were focused on his shoes. His position made him seem like he was nervous or something, but he looked absolutely adorable.

Alice cleared her throat a little louder than she needed to. Edward's head snapped up, and his eyes fixed on me. I willed my blood not to rush to my face, but I didn't think it was working because a smile spread across his lips.

He stared at me for a good five minutes, it seemed. If I didn't know any better I would have thought he was dazzled, but then I remembered that only he could do that to me. Not the other way around.

"Ready?" I asked, finally. I wanted to get this over with and the faster we got out of here, the faster it would be over and I could go home.

Edward finally snapped out of whatever daze he was in. "Oh, yes, right, of course." He stood up and started leading me to the door.

"Wait!" Alice screeched. I turned around, startled, but then realized she was handing me my jacket.

"Thanks," I smiled and pulled it on. She shooed me away with her hand and I went back to Edward, who had opened the front door and was waiting for me step through first.

"So, where are we going, exactly?" I asked, as I slipped into the Volvo.

"Well, we're not going to dinner, if that's what you're asking," He smiled and turned on the car.

I was about to answer but my cell phone started ringing. People had really good timing when it came to calling me. "Hello?"

"Bella!!" Jacob's voice said excitedly.

"Hey Jake, what's up?" I perked up instantly at his voice. I missed Jacob, more than I thought I would. It was good to hear from him again.

"I just wanted to tell you you're allowed back in La Push," he answered.

"You took care of everything?"

"Yeah! Can you believe it?" I could just imagine the smile that was, more than likely, plastered on his face at the moment.

"I'm so proud of you, Jake!" I really was. Jacob managed to kill a vampire without the head of his pack. That had to be a major accomplishment.

"Yeah, I know. Hey, I gotta go, but I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Bye Jake," I said, and hung up the phone.

Edward was looking at me curiously when I glanced over at him. "What's to be proud about?" He asked.

"Oh," I shrugged. "Jacob killed Victoria." I was trying to nonchalant about the conversation that I knew was coming, and it was working out better than I thought.

"What?!" He screamed. _Okay, maybe nonchalance wasn't going to work tonight.._

I looked over at him and frowned. "You mean Esme and Alice didn't tell you? Well, of course they didn't. I mean, look at you; you look like you're about to kill something," I cringed. "Don't be mad, Edward. I didn't want you to know."

"Why?"

"Because I knew you would freak out, like you're doing right now," I sighed.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Don't be," I laughed. "I knew this would happen."

"What do you want to eat?" Edward asked, changing the subject.

"I thought we weren't going to dinner."

He smiled. "We aren't, but I'm picking something up for you on the way."

"Oh, um, a burger and fries are fine with me," I said.

Edward pulled up to a drive-through and ordered my food. I took it gratefully; I was starving. Soon, we were speeding down the freeway again.

"So where are we going?" I asked again and shoved a couple fries in my mouth.

"It's a surprise," He stated.

"Edward, you know how much I hate surprises," I groaned.

"Yes, but you'll love this one. I promise," He turned to look at me and he had that crooked grin on his face. I couldn't help but agree.

Before I knew it we were driving through downtown Seattle. I stared out the passenger window in awe. I loved this city; it was beautiful, especially at night. It was nothing like Phoenix, I think that's why I loved it so much.

Edward sped down the highway, to a destination that I was still in the dark about. We pulled into a public parking garage and Edward led me down the street to what I assumed was an amphitheatre of some kind. Was he taking me to a concert or something?

"Edward," I was a little hesitant to continue.

"You'll love it, I promise." He answered and pulled me through the doors.

I could hear people cheering, and the faint guitar solo of a song that I recognized. But it couldn't be, could it? Hadn't Blink-182 broken up? My question was answered by the big banner in front of me that clearly said BLINK-182 SPECIAL REUNION SHOW.

"You didn't do this, did you?" I gaped at Edward. He just grinned and led me into the theatre. I couldn't believe it; Edward Cullen had paid for one of my all time favorite bands to play a reunion show. He was really willing to go to great lengths to win me back.

We stood front row center and I stared in awe as Tom Delonge came within ten feet of me. I felt like such a fan girl in that moment. It sickened me a little, but then I realized I shouldn't care. I was at a Blink concert, this was better than getting my Mustang.

"_Please take me by the hand  
It's so cold out tonight  
I'll put blankets on the bed  
I won't turn out the light  
Just don't forget to think about me  
And I won't forget you  
I'll write you once a week she said…"_

I stared up at the stage and sang along with Going Away to College. It was my favorite song, by far. I had a sneaking suspicion that Edward requested that they play it.

"_Why does it feel the same  
To fall in love or break it off  
And if young love is just a game  
Then I must have missed the kick off  
Don't depend on me to ever follow through on anything  
But Id go through hell for you and  
I haven't been this scared in a long time  
And I'm so unprepared so here's your valentine  
Bouquet of clumsy words, a simple melody  
This worlds an ugly place  
But you're so beautiful to me…"_

I noticed Edward staring at me, but I didn't care. I was too lost in the music to be embarrassed or self-conscious. I had to admit, this was the best date I had ever been on. Of course, I hadn't been on that many, and they were all with Edward, but this was still the best.

"_I'll think about the times  
She kissed me after class  
And she put up with my friends  
I acted like an ass  
I'd ditch my lecture to watch the girls play soccer  
Is my picture still hanging in her locker  
I haven't been this scared in a long time  
And I'm so unprepared so here's your valentine  
Bouquet of clumsy words, a simple melody  
This worlds an ugly place  
But you're so beautiful…"_

As the song ended, I finally looked over at Edward. He was still staring at me, but all I could do was smile at him and then look back at the stage as the next song started.

* * *

"Thank you," I said as we walked back to Edward's Volvo. 

It was almost midnight when the show ended and it was freezing outside. I had my hands shoved deep into my coat pockets as I walked beside my ex-boyfriend.

He looked over at me and smiled. "You're welcome."

I stopped walking and turned to face him. "How did you do it?"

"Do what?" He cocked his head to the side. Oh dear God he was beautiful.

"That," I pointed back at the theatre.

"Oh, that. Yeah, um, no."

"Excuse me?"

He smiled. "I'm not telling you."

My eyes narrowed. "And why not?"

"Because," Edward shrugged. "I can't just divulge my secrets to you."

"Ugh! You are _so_ frustrating!" I turned abruptly and started walking toward the car.

I don't think I was meant to hear it, but I heard Edward mumble, "Now you know how I feel."

I led the way back to the car, but ended up getting lost and Edward had to come save me from the middle of the parking structure. Needless to say, it was extremely embarrassing and there was a lot of blushing on my part and laughing on his.

The drive back to Forks was quiet, or at least it was for about five minutes.

"Am I forgiven yet?" Edward asked.

"No," I grumbled. Did he really think it was going to be _that_ easy? Seriously, the guy knew nothing about women.

"Eh, a guy can hope, right?" He shrugged. I was surprised he took it so lightly. I almost expected him to start begging for me to forgive him. Maybe he was starting to get the picture that these things take time. Or maybe it was just a front, and inside he was being torn apart by my words. Oh well, its best not to think about those things.

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did," he said.

I shook my head. "Something else."

"Okay," Edward replied, a little cautious.

I sighed deeply and just went for it. I wanted to ask this question for a while and right now was as good a time as any to finally get it out. "Why did you come back?"

I think this was the question that Edward was dreading, because he gripped the steering wheel so tight, I thought he would break it any moment. Maybe it wasn't the right time to ask. But was there an appropriate time to ask such a question as this? I didn't think so.

"Well?" I prompted.

"I shouldn't have left in the first place, but I did, and I regret it every single day. Being away from you was like having a part of me ripped off and then I was expected to function properly without it. I couldn't do anything…well I could…but everything I did reminded me of you, so I just sat there in my rooms for months doing nothing and even that reminded me of you. And then I decided I would try to track Victoria, keep her away from you, you know? Keep you safe. But when I followed a false lead to South America, I couldn't do it anymore so I went back to Carlisle and Esme."

"That still doesn't answer my question, Edward," I pressed.

He sighed but his grip on the steering wheel loosened a bit. "I came back because I couldn't live another day without you. I couldn't stand not seeing your face, not holding you in my arms, not kissing you. I knew you wouldn't forgive me, but I had hope. And I thought that maybe, if I could just see you, if I could just talk to you, then that would be enough. But its not, Bella. I can't take just sitting here knowing that we're not together, that we're just "friends", so to speak. I want more than that…no, I _need_ more than that. You're everything to me, nothing can compare."

"I'm sure something will, someday," I whispered.

"No, nothing will ever compare," he whispered back.

I sat silently after that and stared out the window. I couldn't believe what he was saying. Well, I could, but I didn't want to. There was no way that he felt this way about me, no way in hell. He couldn't love me like that, I was ordinary. I was just a scrawny human that happened to have luck on her side when she moved to Forks. It didn't make sense for a god-like creature such as Edward to love me the way he did. Hell, it didn't make sense for him to even care about me. But he did, and I couldn't do anything about it. Not that I wanted to. Edward's love was everything to me, I couldn't deny that anymore. I loved him more than anything in this world and he felt the same about me.

So why was I fighting this? Why was making us both miserable by not forgiving him? Oh yeah, because he left me. He left me to fend for myself for nine months and then he came back and expected everything to go back to normal. I couldn't trust Edward, I couldn't be sure that he wouldn't just up and leave again one day.

We were passing the Forks city limits when I finally spoke again. "Winning me back is not going to be easy, you know that, right?"

Edward let a grin pass onto his face. "Are you suggesting that it's even possible _to_ win you back?"

"Yes," I shrugged. "I suppose I am. But it's a very miniscule chance."

"I'll take what I can get."

Edward pulled up in front of Charlie's house then. The front porch light was the only thing on, so I knew Charlie had gone to bed already. I was somewhat thankful; I didn't want to explain to him why I was walking through the front door at this hour.

"Thank you. Again. Tonight was fun, and even though you spent massive amounts of money on me, I'm going to forgive you. Just this once, though." I glared sarcastically in his direction and opened the car door.

"You're welcome, Bella," He grinned. "Good night."

Edward waited for me to step safely through the front door before I heard his Volvo speed down the street. I let myself smile wider than I had since Edward first left and made my way up to my bedroom. I was truly happy, for the first time in a very long time.


	9. chapter 8: Fight

**A/N:** Yay for long author's notes! okay I really need to stop listening to Dane Cook while trying to write a serious chapter. Ugh! I'm starting to fall in love with Matt Skiba's voice too.

Oh! Question… which song do you like better: _Hanging by a Moment_ or _Everything_? They're both by Lifehouse.

And yes, I do have a purpose in asking you, don't worry, its not completely random.

And I'm really in need of some motivation to keep writing, because I'm getting like 300 hits per chapter, and only an average of 5 reviews. So if you want me to continue, then you're going to have to tell me. Because if you don't I'm going to assume you think its crap and stop writing.

**Disclaimer:** not mine.

* * *

I walked through my bedroom door, still smiling, but stopped mid-doorway when I saw a figure sitting in my rocking chair, most likely staring straight at me. I couldn't tell, it was too dark. It was too big to be Alice, and too buff to be Edward. I could only assume it was one person.

"Emmett?" I squinted my eyes in a futile attempt to see in the darkness, but it wasn't working too well. I flipped on the light, and sure enough, Emmett Cullen was staring at me with a bemused grin on his face. He was the last person I would expect to be sitting in my bedroom at this time of night. I really had to start locking my window, but I didn't know how that would stop them, vampires could get through anything. Maybe I should put a sign up that says 'no vampires allowed after 12.' Not sure that would go over too well, though.

"So…how'd it go?" He asked.

I blinked a couple times; maybe I was hallucinating from lack of sleep. I heard that happens to people sometimes. "What are you doing here?"

"That's an interesting way of answering my question, Bella," he leaned forward in the rocking chair, making it creak a little. He looked really out of place in my bedroom, it was kind of odd and funny at the same time.

"No seriously," I finally shut my bedroom door. "What are you doing here, Emmett?"

He rolled his eyes and gave a little chuckle. "Rosalie and Alice made me come because they couldn't wait until tomorrow to hear what happened. They knew that Edward would notice if one of them was conveniently missing right after your date. So, they sent me, because Edward would never suspect _me_ of coming to your house at midnight," he explained.

"Oh," I shrugged. "That makes sense." I was definitely sure I wasn't hallucinating by now.

"So, back to my original question, how did it go?"

I strode over to my bed and sat down facing the very out of place vampire in front of me. "Well," I began. "It went."

Emmett frowned at my lack of answer. "It went?" He raised an eyebrow.

"What else am I supposed to say?" I complained. "It was the best date I've ever been on, but…"

"There's a 'but'?"

"Unfortunately," I cringed.

He waved a hand to encourage me to continue. "Please, do elaborate."

"Well," I sighed. "I don't know. He's killing me here, not literally but you know what I mean, right?" Emmett nodded. "I don't understand how every conversation we have goes from fun and light to serious and heart-breaking. I want to forgive him so badly, but I still can't trust him. I'm so afraid he's going to leave again. I'm so afraid that he's going to decide that I'm not worth it and give up on me. Emmett, I couldn't deal with that if he did. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let that happen. I couldn't stand another heart break. But he's making it so hard not to forgive him. It's taking everything in me not to run into his arms and never let him go. Am I right for doing this? For making him work for my forgiveness? I'm not some horrible person, am I? Oh God, I'm evil. I'm an evil bitch," I stared down at my hands and started fidgeting. It was all I could do not to break down into sobs.

I heard Emmett get up, but I never expected him to do what he did. He picked me up from my bed and pulled me into a tight hug. My feet were dangling off the floor a little, and if anyone saw us, they probably would've burst out laughing.

When he finally let me go he said, "You're not evil, Bella, and you're definitely not a bitch. You're confused. You love Edward, but you're not sure if you can trust him. That's understandable. And he's trying. He's trying as hard as he can to win you back and make you trust him again, because he loves you. He'll go to the ends of the earth and back just to prove to you that he'll do anything you ask. You have to believe me when I say that Edward is not leaving. He's here to stay, we all are. You're family, Bella, we won't leave you. You're being a lot stronger than I expected, though. I'm very impressed; if I were you I would have broken down already."

I felt the tears welling up in my eyes, but I wouldn't let them fall. Instead, I placed a kiss on his cheek. "I love you, Emmett. You're the best big brother any girl could ask for."

He smiled sheepishly and hugged me again. "As long as we've established that I'm family. I love you too, Bella."

I yawned. "Well, as much as I love having this conversation, the human needs her sleep."

"Oh," Emmett jumped back a little. "Right. I forget sometimes that you're still human."

"Is that a compliment? I'm not sure; I'm too tired to decipher if it is or not," I yawned again.

"Hmm," Emmett stroked his chin. "I suppose it could be a compliment. Well, anyway, you have to sleep; Alice and Rosalie want you at the house bright and early and they want every last detail."

"Oh, great," I rolled my eyes. "Good night, Emmett."

"Good night, Bella," He replied, and then he was gone.

* * *

I walked into the house without even knocking. I had gotten into the habit in the last week, and since none of the Cullens slept, I never disturbed anything. There was always at least one person downstairs to greet me so it wasn't like I was intruding.

Alice was sitting on the couch with Jasper. They were curled up together and watching something on the TV. They looked adorable together.

"Morning, Alice," I smiled. "Morning, Jasper."

Alice was up from the couch and hugging me in an instant, and Jasper just raised a hand to acknowledge that he heard me. He was way too involved in the show to even look away from the screen.

"I can't stay long, I'm going to La Push to meet Jacob and Embry later," I said as Alice and I made our way into the dining room. It was tradition now; every morning I had breakfast specially made, even if it was just cereal or something. She settled me down at the table and then went back to Jasper.

I was half-way through my meal when I noticed that Edward was sitting in the seat opposite me, and watching me as I ate. Can you say creepy? I sure can.

"Edward, stop staring. It's disturbing," I glared at him as best I could, but it didn't work the way I wanted it too.

He grinned. "Sorry, it's just…how can you eat that? It looks disgusting."

"It's really not," I shoved a spoonful of Coca Puffs in my mouth. "You want some?" I waved the spoon in his direction.

"No, thanks," He scrunched up his nose. "Wait, why are you asking? I'm not human, remember?"

"It makes things easier," I shrugged. "If I think of you as human."

"What?" He looked confused. "Why?"

"If I think of you as a human, then I don't have to feel as guilty if I reject you. Because, if you're human, then you can die, and if you can die, then you won't have to remember me for eternity," I explained.

"You're thinking about rejecting me," Edward said. It was a statement, not a question and his tone had a hint of sadness. I chose to ignore it because if I didn't I knew I wouldn't be able to resist him anymore. I would probably drop everything and rush over to him to comfort him. _Not happening, Bella. Nope._

I shrugged again. "It's always a possibility, Edward, you should know that," I looked down at the cereal box watch on my wrist, and realized I had to go. "Oh crap! I gotta jet," I paused half-way out of my seat. "Um, Edward?"

He looked up at me curiously and waited for me to continue. "Will you tell Alice and Rose to meet me at my house tonight? I think they wanted to talk to me or something."

"Oh," he nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"Thanks," I smiled and started sprinting to my Mustang.

* * *

"Jacob!" I held my arms out to him and he lifted me off the ground and spun me around. "Where's Embry?"

"You reek of vampire, Bella," Jacob stated while putting me back on the ground. He scrunched up his nose and held me from him as if that would make the smell any better.

"Oh," I shrugged. "Yeah, sorry about that. I've been hanging out at the Cullen's house all week."

"You what?" He growled, his face suddenly all seriously and mean.

"I have the right to hang out with who ever I want, Jake, don't be getting all mad at me for it," I pointed out.

"You and Edward aren't…together again. Are you?"

"No," I almost yelled in surprise. "Absolutely not," I shook my head furiously.

Jacob lightened up a little. "And you're not going to get back to together with him, right?"

I winced. "There…might be a possibility."

"Isabella Swan, I refuse to let you go near that bloodsucker."

I stepped back, shocked. Oh he did _not_ just say that. "Ex…excuse me?" I stammered.

Jacob stood his ground. "You heard me."

"How dare you!" I screamed. "There is no way in hell that you have the right to say such a thing Jacob Black!"

"I think I do," he said. "That stupid bloodsucker hurt you once and I know he'll do it again. You will not go near him."

"Jake, you can't forbid me to see someone. Especially when you know you won't step foot in Forks while he's there," I shook my head in disbelief.

I had never fought with Jacob, that's what made our relationship so awesome. I couldn't believe that the second I finally get to see him again, he tells me I can't see Edward. Who did he think he was, my father? _And I thought Edward was over protective._

"You're not allowed to see him, Bella." Jacob growled.

I turned around and headed back to my Mustang. "Try and stop me," I spat and drove away.

I shifted into fourth gear and continued speeding down the road. It was raining now, hard. I wanted to laugh at how ironic it was that the weather matched my mood at the moment, but I didn't think I was capable of laughing right now. I couldn't even smile at the Dane Cook that was blaring out of my speakers.

I couldn't believe I just told Jacob Black, my best friend, to try and stop me. What was thinking? Why did I even start the fight with him? Wait, what was I doing? Jake deserved it. He had no right to tell me I couldn't see Edward. It didn't matter if I was with him or not, I should be able to see him if I wanted to. Ugh! Men. Why were they always trying to protect me? I'm not that fragile.

I didn't know where I was driving. I was just following the road, and crying, and trying to see out the windshield. I slowed down a little, to make sure I didn't kill myself. I was back in Forks by now, and I was driving through downtown. I passed the street to Charlie's house and kept driving straight. A minute later I was pulling up to the Cullen mansion.

I parked behind Edward's Volvo and shut off the engine. But I didn't make a move to leave the confines of my car. I couldn't move. I could only sit there, listening to the rain on the roof and cry my eyes out. Had I really chosen my ex-boyfriend over my best friend? Oh God, I did.

I started crying even harder. My breathing was coming in short gasps and I wanted to scream. But I couldn't, I didn't have the energy. I didn't even fight back when Edward came outside and pulled me from the car. I didn't fight as he carried me into the house and up the stairs and into his room. I felt safe in his arms, safer than I had felt in months. I didn't want him to let me go. I didn't want him to move.

"Bella," he whispered. "What's wrong?"

My breathing was still a little erratic, but it was coming steadily now. I didn't have to gasp for oxygen anymore. I didn't answer Edward; I just buried my head deeper into his chest and kept crying.

Slowly the tears subsided and was I was finally able to push myself away from Edward's grasp. "Sorry," I bit my lip and curled up on the opposite side of the couch.

"What happened? You were gone for fifteen minutes and then you show up again, crying hysterically," he frowned at me.

"Fifteen minutes? It seemed so much longer than that," I rested my chin on my knees and looked at Edward.

"Yeah, well with your driving the way it is now, I'm surprised it even took that long," he gave a small smile. "What's up with that anyway?"

"Yeah, about that," I inhaled deeply. "While you were gone I sort of acquired a couple motorcycles and Jacob helped me fix them up and taught me how to ride. I guess speeding just came from that."

"Motorcycles…as in plural? Motorcycles," Edward gaped at me. "I thought that when I left you promised not to do anything stupid."

I shrugged. "I figured that since you could break your promise, I could break mine. And I was sort of doing it so I could hear your voice."

"Hear my voice?" He seemed confused.

I blushed a little and hid my face. "When I got adrenaline rushes, I found that I could hear your voice. Jacob said it was just my way of a little wish fulfillment, but I don't know, maybe I was just delusional."

Edward frowned again. "I'm not sure whether to be flattered or to yell at you for putting yourself into dangerous situations."

"I prefer if you were just flattered, but I guess I would know where you were coming from if you yelled at me," I started chewing on my bottom lip.

Edward sighed. "You know, you never answered my original question. What happened to you?"

"Jacob and I got into a fight."

"About?" He questioned.

"You," I whispered.

"Me? Why would you fight about me?"

I sighed and looked up at him. His face was full of worry and confusion. "Jake told me that I wasn't allowed to see you. That you broke my heart once and you were bound to do it again. But I told him he had no right to forbid me from seeing anyone. I told him he could try to stop me, and then I left."

"You chose me over your best friend," he stated.

"I guess I did," I replied.

I stood up from the couch and straightened out my clothes. "I'd better go," I turned to leave but Edward stopped me.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him. We were inches apart now; I could feel his breath on my face. He was staring down at me with those eyes that made want to melt. But this wasn't the way I wanted it to go, this wasn't the way I imagined it to happen. I was vulnerable, and he was taking advantage of me. _So not fair._

"Edward," I whispered. "Please don't."


	10. chapter 9: I Highly Dislike You

**A/N:** i want everybody right now, before you read this chapter, to download the Footloose theme song, and the Top Gun theme song, the Danger Zone one. yeah. just because i said so. Limewire is your friend people, its there for a reason. -snicker-

so. this chapter is THE chapter. mhm. you'll hate me at the begining but love me by the end. trust me.

oh. this will probably be one of the last chapters, don't worry. i know for sure its not the LAST. so yeah.

i want to thank everyone whos been reviewing. i love you all. you're my inspiration, even when i don't get my email updates and i have to wait 39430984389 years to read my reviews.

NOW. ON WITH THE SHOW!

* * *

Before I had a chance to push him away, Edward's cold lips were pressed against mine. I didn't know what to do, I wanted this, but at the same time I didn't. It wasn't right. This wasn't supposed to happen. My mind was a jumbled mess as I tried figuring out what exactly was going on at the moment.

I did the only thing I could think of; I shoved him away as hard as I could. "No," I whispered and ran out of the room. I couldn't hear if Edward followed or not. I hoped he didn't.

I managed not to trip on my way down the stairs but I ran straight into Alice while trying to make it through the front door.

"Alice, move," I begged. I tried to get passed her but she put her hands on my shoulders. I was stuck.

"Bella, what's wrong?" She looked at me with a worried expression on her face.

"Please, just move," I repeated.

"Alice let her go," Edward's voice came from behind me. She moved aside and I went straight for my car, not once looking back.

I cried the entire way back to Charlie's house. I couldn't go back to La Push, and now I couldn't go to the Cullens. I was truly alone in that moment and it scared the living daylights out of me.

* * *

I locked myself in my room for three days. I didn't move an inch from my bed. I just lay on my mattress, with my iPod blasting in my ears. I didn't eat and I barely slept. I was a wreck and I didn't even know why.

It was the middle of day four when Charlie finally picked my lock to see if I was actually still alive. He examined me for a moment and then yanked away my iPod but I didn't protest, the battery died ages ago. I heard him say something about being catatonic and I was wondering if he was talking to me, but when Alice showed up, I knew he had been on the phone.

I was thankful to see her. The fact that she didn't hate me for doing what I did to Edward, gave me some kind of hope that what had happened wasn't completely horrible. Maybe she didn't know about it. I was fairly certain that Edward wouldn't talk to anyone about it before he could speak to me. I was glad he hadn't tried to come over; I didn't want him to see me like this…well, actually I didn't want to see him period.

Alice forced me into the shower, clothes and all. She didn't even bother turning on the hot water, I didn't mind though, it was a nice change. When I was thoroughly soaked, she started pulling off my clothes. I wasn't the least bit embarrassed; Alice had seen me a number of times after the incident with James. She started lathering shampoo in my hair and washed my body. I didn't even want to think about how bad I smelled after three and a half days of not showering.

I was finally snapping out of my coma-like state when Alice had carried me back to my bedroom. I was sitting on my bed with a bowl of cereal in my hands, and she was cleaning my room while ranting on about something that I wasn't listening to. I think she was talking about Edward though, and I was glad I wasn't paying attention.

"Alice," I tried to say. My voice was low and scratchy, it didn't sound like me at all. I tried clearing my throat, which just made me wince in pain because it was so dry.

"Oh, Bella! You're talking!" Alice exclaimed. She immediately dropped the trash bag in her hand and sat down beside me on the bed. "How are you feeling? Are you okay? What happened? Did Edward do this? Oh that stupid vampire, I am going to kick his ass when I get home. He will not hear the end of this; he is really going to get it this time…"

"Alice!" I screamed. "Shut up."

She looked at me, shocked. "Oh, sorry. I tend to ramble when I'm worried."

"It's not Edward's fault. He…" I hesitated a little. "He kissed me, and I freaked out. That's all."

"What do you mean you freaked out? What happened?"

"I don't know. I guess I just wasn't prepared for _that_. Or maybe it was because I had just gotten in a fight with Jacob and it wasn't the way I wanted to be comforted. I don't know," I shrugged. "Alice, can you call Emmett and tell him come over here?"

Alice nodded. "Sure, anything else?"

"Yeah, tell him to bring me some bagels and cream cheese," I gave a small smile.

Fifteen minutes later Emmett was bursting through my bedroom door carrying a bag of bagels in one hand and a huge Starbucks Frappuccino in the other. He smiled sheepishly and moved aside to expose Jasper and Rosalie behind him. _Geez, did he bring the whole family?_

"Its de-caf, just in case," Emmett grinned. He was definitely remembering the double shot espresso scene.

"Thanks, Emmett," I grabbed the bagels and my drink and dug in. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until Alice tried making me eat the cereal, which I hadn't touched. I wanted my comfort food, and now I had my bagels. I was going to be content now…for a while at least.

"Anything for my little sister," He said and nicked me under the chin with a knuckle. I beamed in response and even blushed a little.

"How are you feeling?" Jasper asked. Pshh, like he didn't know already.

"Well," I frowned. "I'm not quite sure, really." And it was the truth. I seriously didn't know what I was feeling. I sort of felt numb, kinda like when I finally decided that mourning over Edward wasn't worth it anymore.

"What happened? Edward hasn't come out of his room for days, and from what Alice told us, you haven't either," Rosalie said. She pushed my feet out of the way and sat at the foot of my bed.

"Do I have to explain it again?" I cringed.

"Want me to?" Alice asked. I nodded and listened as she spoke too fast and too low for me to understand. She was finished with the story in a matter of seconds.

"Oh, Bella, come here," Emmett held his arms out to me and I leaned forward to let him hug me. He pulled me tight against his chest, and it was oddly comforting even though I knew his wife was sitting at the edge of my bed. I was sort of expecting her to get mad and attack me, but it never happened.

"So, what are you going to do?" Jasper asked.

"What do you mean 'what am I going to do'? I'm not _doing_ anything. I can't face him! Not after that," I shook my head furiously. God, what was he thinking? Was he insane? I think Jasper's losing it.

"Bella, you have to," Rosalie stated. Oh sweet Jesus, I've lost Rosalie too.

I dropped my head. "I can't."

"Sure you can," Alice assured. I looked up at her and she tapped her temple and smiled. Well, at least I haven't completely lost Alice, that's somewhat of a relief.

"Positive?" I bit my lip.

"Most definitely," She giggled.

We went silent after that. After about an hour, Rosalie and Jasper went home to try to convince Edward to come out of his room. Alice and Emmett stayed with me. They tried distracting me from thoughts of Edward, but it wasn't working too well.

All I could do was think of him. Why had I pulled away? Wasn't having him back what I wanted? I didn't understand my actions until I started thinking that maybe I didn't want him back at all. Maybe I was fine with having him as just a friend or nothing at all. I knew I hadn't moved on, I couldn't. But maybe having Edward gone for so long, I had grown accustomed to being alone. Maybe all I really needed was a friend.

"Bella," Emmett waved a hand in front of my face.

"Hmm?" I blinked a couple times and looked up at him.

"Me and Alice are gonna head home. You'll be okay, right?"

"I'll be fine Emmett. Thank you for the bagels and coffee," I smiled and hugged him lightly.

"Call if you need _anything_," Alice said over her shoulder as she left the room. I rolled my eyes and fell back on my pillow.

I fell asleep about half an hour later. When I woke up the next morning, I was more than thankful that I hadn't dreamt the whole night.

* * *

My cell phone was ringing but I couldn't seem to find it. _Where the hell did Alice put it?!_ I was tearing up my room, searching everywhere I could think of.

Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse was mocking me as I continued to look for my phone. I looked in every drawer in my desk, my closet, everywhere. You'd think that something THAT loud would be easy to locate, but no, it was definitely not.

I thanked God that whoever was calling me kept hanging up and calling back because I would have never found that stupid phone otherwise. It was under my pillow, and how it got there I had no idea and I really didn't want to find out.

"Hello?" I asked, not even bothering to look at the caller ID. I fell back on my bed, suddenly exhausted from the escapade around my room.

"Bella," The voice said. I instantly recognized it as Edward's.

"Edward," I whispered. I really didn't feel like talking to him right now. Actually I didn't feel like talking to him ever, but that's really not the point at the moment.

He hesitated for a second and I could tell he was choosing his words carefully. "Would it be all right if I came over so we could…talk?"

I deliberated on whether I could see him or not. I didn't know what would happen if he came over, but I knew I would have to face him sooner or later. I would rather it be sooner than later. "That's fine," I said. Alice had said I would be able to do it, and I never bet against her. I wasn't going to start now. But I had butterflies in my stomach nonetheless.

"I'll be over in a few minutes," he replied and hung up the phone.

Sure enough, exactly three minutes later I heard Edward's Volvo screech to a stop behind my Mustang. I sat on my bed with my legs crossed under me and I watched as Edward climbed through my window. I was pretty sure it was the last time he would be doing that.

He stood at the foot of my bed and stared at me, and I stared back. We didn't say anything for the longest time, and the tension was growing dramatically. It wasn't doing anything for that stupid feeling in my stomach either.

"I'm sorry," he said finally.

I didn't respond. I just sat there, staring. It wasn't that I didn't want to say anything to him, it was that I couldn't. I couldn't find the words. I didn't know how to tell him that I was rejecting him, that I couldn't take him back.

"What are you thinking?" Edward asked.

"I… I need you to do something for me," I whispered. _You can do this Bella, you can._

"Anything."

I sighed; he was making this hard for me. "I need you to let me go." Oh God, I was actually doing it. I was telling Edward that I couldn't be with him. _This is the right thing to do Bella,_ I reassured myself. Was it, though? Was I doing the right thing by rejecting my true love? Surely it had to be right, in some sense. Right?

"What?" He gasped. "Why?"

I dropped my head into my hands. "I can't let you go if you don't let me go first."

He didn't say anything, but I heard him climbing out my window. He was leaving, and he was doing it at a human pace. Was he _trying_ to torture me? Or was he giving me time to chase after him? A part of my mind was opting for the latter, because maybe what I was doing wasn't the right thing. _No, Bella, you need to let him go._

I sat on my bed, thinking about what I had just done. And then I realized that he had never given me an answer. I jumped off my bed and flew down the stairs as fast as I could.

Edward was getting into his car when I made it out the front door. "Edward, wait!" I screamed.

He looked at me in surprise, but then he closed the car door and started walking toward me.

"I need an answer, Edward. This isn't something you can just leave," I said softly. I stopped in front of him; we were in the middle of my front lawn. It was freezing outside, but at the moment I didn't care. I needed an answer.

"I can't let you go. I won't, not ever," He put a finger under my chin and lifted my head.

"Please, you have to," I begged.

"I'm not letting you go Bella," he said sternly.

"Fine, I'll just have to do it for the both of us," I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and turned around to walk back in the house. There was only one way he could stop me now, and he would never use that option. He would never be that desperate.

"_You are the strength that keeps me walking..." _ He started to sing. Okay, so maybe he would use that option. I couldn't help but notice how amazing his singing voice was.

I stopped dead in tracks; the tears were welling up in my eyes. "Edward, don't you dare start singing that," I said.

"…_You are the hope that keeps me trusting you are the life to my soul..." _he continued defiantly. I could just hear the smile in his voice.

My breath caught in my throat. I was willing the tears not to come, but it wouldn't work, I could feel them creeping up in my eyes. I slowly turned around to face him.

"…_You are my purpose you're everything…" _

"Oh God, Edward…" I whispered. I didn't trust my voice to be any louder. "Please, don't," I begged.

"…_And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you would you tell me how could it be any better than this, yeah…" _he continued singing.

The tears were flowing freely down my face now, I couldn't stop them. He was using this song against me, and it was working. I felt myself falling even more in love with him. I knew in that moment that I couldn't let him go, that he would always be with me. I would always love him. All I wanted to do was wrap my arms around him and never let go. But I stopped myself. I couldn't do this, what if he left again? How could I survive getting my heart crushed for a second time? I was being stupid, I knew it, but I couldn't let myself get hurt again.

"…_How could it be any better than this… 'cause you're all I want you're all I need you're everything, everything..."_

He was staring at me with those beautiful topaz eyes. Those eyes that I fell in love with. I was mentally begging my legs not to turn to jelly, it wasn't working. I didn't want to resist him anymore. I was giving up the fight. I was forgiving him. I was risking my heart, but for some reason, I knew it was the right thing to do. I was meant to be with Edward, and I wasn't about to stop fate.

Before he could continue, I closed the gap between us and my lips went crashing into his. I didn't care about anything in that moment. All I cared about was Edward, and not letting him get away from me. I was not going to let him go, not this time. Edward was mine, all mine.

When we finally pulled apart, we were both breathless and I was still crying a little. "I hate you Edward Cullen," I said and tried not smiling, but I didn't think it was working too well.

Edward pressed his forehead against mine and wiped some of the tears from my cheeks. "I hate you too Bella Swan," he whispered and kissed me again.

* * *

_So, what do'ya think? hmm? do tell._  



	11. chapter 10: Confrontations

**A/N:** okay this is going to be long. i want to explain why Bella reacted the way she did when Edward kissed her. How would you feel if you just got into a really big fight with your best friend about your ex-boyfriend and then said ex-boyfriend tries to seduce you? I don't think that would go over too well, am i right? Right. so thats why Bella locks herself in her room for three and a half days.

I have a question. How many of you would read a Twilight version of _Interview With The Vampire_? I've already started writing it, and i think it would be interesitng but i'm not sure how many other people would.

Thank you to all of my reviewers. you guys are my world. I love you more than anything. I tried making Bella and Edward's reuinion as perfect as possible and i'm glad everyone liked it.

**Disclaimer:** you guys need to go to a loony bin if you actually think i'm talented enough to write Twilight. seriously. -shakes head-

* * *

_Three days later… _

I was laying on Edward's couch with my head in his lap and I was tracing lines up and down his arms. He was smiling down at me; I just knew it even though I was focused on his arms. I was in heaven. Yes, this was definitely heaven…or some form of it anyway.

"I have to go to La Push soon," I said. I sort of didn't want to go now, but I didn't want to disappoint Emily. I knew she was expecting me to be there when she got home. I would just have to deal with Jacob; it was only for a short amount of time anyway. I could handle it, and if worst came to worst, I could just punch him. I didn't know how much damage it would cause, but it would make me feel better and that's all that really mattered in the long run.

Edward growled. "No you don't."

"Edward…" I warned.

"Okay, fine. But I don't want you going." _Of course he didn't._ But that wasn't going to stop me.

I smiled and rolled my eyes. "I promised Emily and Sam I would be there when they got back from their honey moon. I have to go. Its only for an hour or two, you'll survive. I promise."

He sighed. "I don't want you away from me." And I didn't want to be away from him, but I promised Emily, and even though I've broken promises in the past, I wasn't doing that anymore. _No more promise breaking for Bella. Nah-uh._

I sat up so I could get a better view of him. "You'll be here when I get back, right?"

"Yes," Edward nodded curtly.

"You'll be _right_ here, then?" I pointed down at the couch to emphasize my point.

"Yes, Bella." He was getting annoyed, I knew it. I loved when I did this to him, it was highly amusing. Not for him, but it was for me.

"So if I call Alice and tell her to check up on you, you'll be sitting in this _exact_ spot."

"Bella, I won't move and inch. I promise," He replied, smiling a little. It was a futile attempt to hide his annoyance, but I didn't care. As long as he was here when I got back, that's all that mattered.

"Okay," I nodded my head once.

"Are you satisfied?" He asked.

I bit my lip thoughtfully. "No, not completely," I leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. I pulled away smiling. "Okay, now I'm satisfied."

Edward pulled me closer and hugged me tight. "I'm glad," he whispered in my ear. "I love you."

I snuggled close and buried my head in his shoulder. "I love you, too," I whispered.

* * *

The drive to La Push was uneventful. It's what happened when I got there that matters.

Jared and Embry were standing outside Sam and Emily's house. When they saw my car, I could tell they knew what happened between Jacob and me. It didn't surprise me, especially since the pack could read each others' minds. The looks on their faces were a mixture of happiness and anger, and I really hoped the happiness was directed toward me. I wasn't quite ready to get chewed out by a couple of werewolves that thought they were better than me, because no good would come of that. It would result in a very angry human and a massive amount of bruises for said werewolves.

"Hey, guys!" I exclaimed. I was making a desperate attempt to be cheerful, but I didn't like it, so I stopped. The happiness factor died when I left Edward's house. "What's up?"

Embry walked toward me, and I was kind of scared for a moment but then he pulled me into a hug, which surprised me. Wasn't expecting that one. "You don't hate me?" I asked.

Embry laughed and Jared joined in.

"Bella, you can be such a retard sometimes," Embry said.

I scowled. "I resent that." They ignored me and laughed a little more, but then their faces turned serious.

"Jacob tried to make us believe his side of the story, but we just couldn't," Jared explained.

"But I thought you hated vampires," I was confused. This was highly uncharacteristic of werewolves. Key word there: HIGHLY.

Jared nodded. "We do hate vampires. But that doesn't mean we don't want to see you happy, and if a vampire makes you happy, then it's okay with us. We can still kick his ass if he hurts you again."

I looked from one boy to the other, and stopped at Embry. "You agree with this?"

He nodded and smiled. "So does Paul, and Quil would, but he doesn't know you well enough to have an actual opinion on the subject. And you know Jacob's argument."

"Where is he anyway?" I poked my head around Embry and looked in the bay window in the front of the house. I couldn't see anything, but only because the curtains were drawn.

"Jake's inside with Paul and Quil. He's not expecting you to come, you know, none of us thought you would, come to think of it." Jared said.

"Of course I came! I'm not going to break my promise to Emily and Sam just because Jacob thinks I'm making a bad choice," I said loudly. I was on the verge of yelling, but contained myself enough not to.

The two stood there staring at me for a few minutes. They looked like they were deliberating on something, but I couldn't tell what it was. _Ugh! Stupid mind readers._

"You know, if you're going to face him, you might as well do it now, before Em gets here, because she'll freak if she sees you two fighting," Embry stated.

He was right. I had to talk to Jacob. It was now or never. I didn't know what the outcome of this would be, and I didn't know if I would walk out of this situation in one piece, but I needed to know if Jake was going to hate me now that Edward and I were together again. I didn't think I would have the courage to face him again if I backed out this time. No, I was pretty certain I wouldn't.

I took a deep breath and started walking toward the house. Embry and Jared walked close behind. I got to the front door and stopped. I had my hand on the door knob, but I couldn't bring myself to open it. I couldn't bring myself to face my former best friend. It was hard to think of him as 'former', I never thought that would happen.

"Bella, it's going to be fine," Jared put a hand on my shoulder to reassure me. I looked back, smiled and pushed open the front door.

Jacob was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a magazine. Paul and Quil had their faces fixed on the TV screen, but looked up when they smelled/heard me. Paul gave me a small smile, and then stood up to give me a hug. I hugged him back.

"It'll be okay," He whispered. I just nodded and made my way over to the kitchen.

Jacob didn't look up when I pulled out the chair and sat down, but he did become a little rigid, so I knew that he knew it was me. We were making progress already.

"Jake," I said softly. I didn't say anything else. There was so much I could say to him, but the words just wouldn't form when I tried to speak. I waited, watching Jacob and trying to see if he would reply. He just flipped the pages of his magazine, but I knew he wasn't paying attention to it.

Suddenly Paul was standing next to me. I looked up at him and he was smiling down at me. "Jacob, talk to the girl," he said and then disappeared again into the living room.

Jacob finally looked up, but he refused to look me in the eye. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the wall behind me. "You're with him again," he stated.

"Yes," I replied.

"You said you wouldn't."

I sighed. "I said there was a possibility, Jake. Big difference."

Jacob let his head fall into his hands. He started rubbing his temples. "You know I hate him, right?"

I nodded. "I know. But that doesn't mean you can't be happy for me. Jake, I love him. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

He kept rubbing his temples. "Yeah, it means that you're never coming here again after today. It means that you're going to abandon us."

"Jacob!" I gasped. "How dare you say that?! I could never abandon you. NEVER. It doesn't matter who I'm with, I will never abandon you guys. I love you too much."

Jake just shook his head. "He's not going to let you come here."

"Edward doesn't have _that_ much control over me. I'm my own person, he lets me do what I please," I said.

"Are you positive about that? Are you sure he's going to let you come here and hang out with us, when he knows we're enemies? Bella, in the long run, you're going to have to choose, and as long as those bloodsuckers are around, you're going to choose them."

I had to admit, Jacob was right. I would choose the Cullens as long as they were around. But I wasn't about to abandon my family in La Push too. I couldn't, not after all they had done for me. I owed Sam and his pack a lot, and I owed Emily too. And as long as they were here, I was going to keep them close. I was going to manage some how.

"Jacob, I'm not abandoning anyone. I'm not going to leave you and pretend you never existed. I'm not that much of a bitch. I may not be able to be with you guys as much as I used to, but I'll manage. We'll all manage. I promise. We can work through this, I know we can," I stared down at my hands. I didn't want to see the look on Jacob's face.

I heard him sigh. "And what happens when he changes you? You won't be allowed on our land anymore," he asked.

I let out a small laugh and shook my head. "Trust me; I'm going to be human for a long time, maybe even forever if Edward keeps being so stubborn."

"He won't change you?" Jacob sounded confused.

"Edward Cullen is so bent on my staying human it's not even funny. I swear, nothing will change his mind," I said.

"What if he doesn't let you come see me?"

I laughed fully now. "Edward can't stop me anymore than you can, Jake. For as long as you want me around, I'll be here."

"You promise?" He sounded like a little child when he said this, but he sounded sincere.

I smiled. "Promise." And with that, I had my best friend back. Today was one hell of a good day.

* * *

"Bella, you're glowing," Emily held me at arms length and examined me.

I shot a glance in Jacob's direction and he started laughing. "A lot of things have happened while you were gone."

She frowned. "How much can happen in two weeks?"

I started laughing. "Lots," I said. "More than you can imagine."

"Please, do explain," Emily pulled me into the kitchen and sat me down at the table.

"Well," I sighed. "You know the night of your wedding? Edward Cullen sort of came back and surprised me at my front door."

"What?" she gasped.

I grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I wasn't expecting it at all. Anyway, I got really pissed at him and he wouldn't leave me alone, so I made his family take care of it. And then Victoria came back, and Jake and the others kept her here in La Push, so I couldn't come here 'cause if I did she would kill me. And I really didn't feel like getting killed, so for about a week I hung out with the Cullens."

"And?" Emily sounded expectant. I laughed at her enthusiasm and interest in my story.

"Edward was trying to win me back, he even got Blink-182 to play a special show in Seattle and he took me. And then this whole thing with Jacob happened and then Edward did something and I really don't want to get into the details and I was catatonic for like three days, which totally sucked. And then I was going to tell Edward that I couldn't be with him and I couldn't forgive him, but he played the Lifehouse card and now I'm completely head over heels in love with him again. Yeah, I think that's everything," I took a deep breath to get some oxygen back into my brain.

Emily stared at me, her mouth slightly open from shock. "Wow," she managed.

"Yeah," I nodded in agreement. Wow pretty much summed up everything right now.

"You're not going to stop seeing us are you?" she suddenly seemed sad.

"No! Of course not. Jacob and I were working out the finer details before you got home," I replied.

"Good, because I'm going to need a god-mother for my children," Emily smiled.

"Are you pregnant?" I asked, almost excited.

"No," she rolled her eyes. "Not yet at least."

And then it hit me. Emily wanted me to the god-mother of her kids. Wow, that was amazing. I was so flattered that she would even consider me worthy of the task. "Thank you, Em," I said quietly.

"For what?" she asked.

"For being the most awesome person in the world. And for actually letting me be in your life still," I replied.

Emily's arms were draped around me the next second. "I couldn't think of anyone better than you, Bella. You're more amazing than you give yourself credit for."

"I'm not normal," I laughed. "Of course I'm amazing."

"You're unbelievable, Bells."

I smiled wide. "I know."

Emily pulled me even closer and whispered in my ear, "I told you he'd come back, you know?" And then she pushed me away to gauge my reaction.

I smiled and rolled my eyes. "I guess you were right."

My cell phone started ringing but I tried to ignore it.

"Bella, your butt is singing," Emily laughed.

I reluctantly pulled it out of my back pocket and answered it. "Alice what is it?"

"What'd you do to Edward? He's sitting in the exact position you left him and he refuses to move," Alice's voice sounded concerned.

I started laughing. "Wow, I didn't think he would actually do it!"

"Do what?" she sounded confused.

I laughed even more. "I told him not to move an inch while I was gone. And if I found out that he did, I would be very mad."

Alice audibly sighed. "Oh. I thought you left him for good this time. I was worried."

"No, Alice," I said. "I'll be back soon, tell him to stay put."

"All right," she giggled. "Bye."

"Bye Alice," I smiled and hung up the phone.

"Well," I sighed and grabbed my car keys. "I better be going. I'll call you later and we'll hang out. Okay?"

Emily nodded and hugged me. "Sounds like a plan."


	12. Chapter 11: Oh Great, Another One

**A/N:** DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO UPDATE THIS STORY?! TWO DAYS!! TWO FREAKING DAYS!! i'm so sorry you guys.

Anyways. Last chapters suck, don't they? yep, this is the last chapter. I'm not so sure it's any good, but i tried. give me credit for that at least.

No, there will NOT be a sequel. i am however in the process of writing two, count them TWO, new stories. but i'm taking a brief hiatus to catch up in Chem class and Psych. but i'll be working on my stories for you, and i'll try and have them done, so you won't have to wait so long in between chapters.

the Spice Girls reference is for **Keeley** because we were talking about them when i was writing this chapter and i couldn't resist. hehe.

hm. i think thats all i wanted to say, if i think of anything else, i'll put it at the end. yeah? yeah.

* * *

Edward's cold hands were draped over my eyes and I couldn't see a thing if my life depended on it, which was the purpose of the exercise, but still, I didn't like it. The whole situation sort of reminded me of when I got my Mustang and I wasn't happy about it then, and I definitely wasn't happy about it now. I liked being able to see, it was one of my favorite senses. _Ah, eyesight, what a wonderful thing._

"Okay, so why are you not letting me look?" I asked again. I was hopeful that he would actually answer me this time, it was a long shot, I knew, but hey, you can't blame a girl for trying.

I was pretty sure we were walking down the hall to Edward's bedroom, but I couldn't be certain. All the hallways in this house were the same, and I still got lost from time to time.

"It's a surprise," Edward whispered in my ear.

I sighed. "I don't like surprises. Have you learned nothing in all the time you've known me?"

He chuckled. "Obviously not, since I keep giving them to you."

"You're ridiculous, you know that?" I mumbled. "And just so you know, I'm glaring intently in your general direction."

He ignored my last statement and whispered, "But you love me even if I am ridiculous." Oh dear lord, his voice was like magic. I could feel my legs giving out but Edward's arm wrapped around my waist before I could fall. "I'm glad to see I still have that effect on you." I could just hear the smile in his voice.

I elbowed him in the ribs. "Shut up," I grumbled.

Suddenly we stopped walking and I heard a door open. We walked a few more steps and then we stopped again. I heard the door close again and Edward's hand dropped from my eyes.

"You can look now," He said.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked around Edward's room. It didn't look much different, only that the couch was shoved in a corner and a huge bed was placed on the same wall as the door.

"A bed?" I raised an eyebrow and looked back at my boyfriend. "That's my surprise, a bed. What's with that?"

Edward shook his head and rolled his eyes. "It's for you to sleep in, smart one." He tapped me on the head.

I glared at him. "I know that. But the couch was just fine. I mean, I don't sleep here enough for you to get me a bed."

"You're completely missing the point here, Bella," Edward shook his head again.

"Okay, I'm clueless, we've established that. Now what's with the bed?" Seriously, of all the surprises…and he gets me a bed. It's a bed for Christ sake. Not that exciting if you ask me. Maybe I was missing an incredibly obvious point here, but I really didn't understand the whole bed thing.

"Bella, will you…" oh crap. Was he asking what I think he was asking? My breath caught in my throat. "Move in with me?"

I exhaled sharply and visibly relaxed. "Oh. Wow. I thought you were asking me to marry you or something. Phew." I took a few deep breaths and tried to get my heart rate back to normal.

"No, that's next week," Edward smiled. "So, what d'ya say. Will you move in with me?"

"Whoa, wait, hold up a second," I held up my hands to make sure he wouldn't talk. "What do you mean, next week?"

"It's a joke, Bella," he rolled his eyes.

"No it's not. You don't just joke about proposing to me. It doesn't work that way, sorry to burst your bubble," I started pacing back and forth in front of the bed which Edward was now sitting on.

"Okay, fine. It's not a joke. Happy now?"

You know those times when you see a person and you know they're trying to say something but the words won't come out of their mouth and they keep making abrupt hand gestures and little squeaks? Well, that's what was happening to me right now. I was speechless, I was panicking. Not about the whole moving in with Edward bit (I could deal with that), but the whole 'he was planning on proposing' thing. It wasn't sitting well with me that he was taking this so casually. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? Edward was just staring at me from the bed with an amused look on his face. I couldn't blame him; I probably looked pretty stupid right about now.

"Bella," he said finally. "Are you okay?"

I stopped pacing and dropped my hands at my sides. I took a deep breath and attempted to calm myself down and it proved to be successful until I remembered why I was freaking out in the first place. The whole process started over.

"BELLA!" Edward yelled when I started pacing again. I was muttering something or other to myself now, I honestly didn't know what. But Edward didn't seem to like the words coming out of my mouth, so, it must have been bad.

I stopped pacing and stared at him. "Hm?"

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

I didn't want to answer. Well, I didn't want to answer truthfully. But I did, of course, because God knows I can't lie to Edward. "You….you're gonna propose. And….and I'm going to say yes. And I'm gonna get married. Oh sweet Jesus, I'm getting married!" I started hyperventilating.

"Bella, honey, I haven't even asked you yet." Edward stood up and strode over to me. He pulled me close and rested his chin on my head. I relaxed immensely.

"But you're planning on it," I gulped.

"How about I don't ask at all, since I already know you're going to say yes?" He stared down at me with those smoldering eyes and crooked grin and I was immediately dazzled. _Ugh, stupid beautiful vampire._

The only coherent word that left my mouth was a soft "Okay."

My mind went completely blank shortly thereafter.

* * *

I woke up the next morning to the sound of Alice giggling very close to my ear. I didn't want to come into full consciousness yet, but then Alice started shaking me. There was no way I was getting back to sleep now.

"What?" I snapped open my eyes and saw Alice staring at me with a huge grin spread across her face.

I lifted myself into a sitting position and finally noticed that I was in my flannel pajama bottoms and my old Spice Girls t-shirt. I didn't remember changing. I didn't remember anything about last night, come to think of it.

"Let me see!" Alice chirped.

I frowned at her. "See what?"

She smiled and shook her head. "The ring, silly!"

"What ring," I was confused. What was Alice talking about? It was way too early in the morning for this. I needed coffee before I could deal with Alice's cheerful personality and her cryptic messages.

Alice was getting impatient now. She grabbed my left hand and held up to my face. "That ring!"

Sure enough, there was a ring on my_ ring_ finger – oh the irony. Through the shock of actually seeing it, I had to admit, it was beautiful, but I couldn't, for the life of me, remember why there would be a ring on my finger. Did Edward propose? Wait, no, I remembered he asked me to move in with him. That was all. Right? Oh, crap.

I was still trying desperately to remember what the hell happened to me yesterday when I heard Edward's voice and I smelled pancakes. I looked over to see Alice being shoved out the door and Edward kicking it shut because he had a tray of food in his hands.

"Morning love," he smiled and walked over to the bed.

"Edward," I frowned at him. "What happened yesterday?"

"What do you mean?" He was unusually cheery this morning, it was almost disturbing. He placed the tray in my lap and I gratefully started digging in.

I took a sip of orange juice before answering. "I don't remember anything that happened yesterday."

"Nothing?" He frowned.

"Well," I sighed. "I remember everything until you asked me to move in with you. And then it's blank until Alice woke me up. I said yes right?"

"Hm, that's interesting," he chuckled.

I gaped at Edward. Was he really laughing at this? "That's all you have to say for yourself? You propose to me, and apparently I say yes, and I have no memory of it and you say this is interesting?!"

This was not a good way to start a day. No, not in the slightest. I was still trying to remember what happened after I blacked out, but I was hitting a wall. I couldn't remember, no matter how hard I tried. I was getting a headache and I was still really tired. I wanted to go back to sleep but I knew that wasn't an option at the moment. I just yawned and took a bite of pancake.

Edward sighed. "I didn't actually propose," he said cautiously, it was almost like he didn't want to see my reaction.

I frowned and wiggled the ringed hand in his face. "Then how did I get the ring?"

"Um, well, you see…" he took a deep breath. "I sort of told you I was going to propose, and then you kinda freaked out, but you said that if I asked you would say yes. So I asked if it would make you feel any better if I didn't ask since I already knew your answer, and you were okay with that."

"I did? I said I would say yes?" the question came out a little harsher than I wanted it to, like I was in disbelief at my own words.

"Are you taking back your answer?" Edward's expression turned sad.

"No!" I almost screamed. "No," I repeated a little softer. "It's just a little shocking, that's all. I never imagined myself getting married, least of all to someone like you."

"Like me?" he frowned. "You mean like an eternally damned creature of the night?"

"No! Of course not. It's just that you're too perfect for me," I shook my head. "I don't deserve you."

Edward smiled and pushed the food out of the way so he could pull me into a hug. "On the contrary," he said. "It's me who doesn't deserve you."

"Ha!" I scoffed. "You wish. I'm not that special. Seriously. I just have the uncanny ability of attracting mythological creatures to my presence. I think it's my personality, but, you know, I could be wrong."

Edward laughed and shook his head. "You never cease to amaze me," I frowned and he explained. "I can never keep up with you; I always think you're going to say one thing but you say something completely different."

I shrugged. "What can I say, I'm full of surprises."

* * *

I pulled my white musical notes t-shirt over my stomach and checked myself in the mirror once again before emerging from the bathroom. Edward was waiting for me in _our_ – oh it felt so nice to say that – bedroom.

I leaned on the door jam and crossed my arms over my chest. Edward hadn't even noticed I was there yet, or maybe he had, and he was ignoring me. Either way, he wasn't looking in my direction, he was a little preoccupied.

I was still staring at Edward when I heard the soft footsteps coming up behind me. I was getting good at the whole listening thing, and I was still human too. None of the Cullens could sneak up on me, not even Edward.

"You can't scare me anymore Alice," I rolled my eyes and turned around.

She snapped her fingers. "Damn, I really thought I had you this time. Nice shirt."

I smiled. "Thanks, this completely shopoholic vampire got it for me the other day even though I told her not to."

Alice shook her head. "That evil vampire," she smiled.

"I still love her," I shrugged.

"Oh, good, because she still loves you," Alice giggled and gave me a hug.

"Bella, could you come here for a minute," Edward asked.

With Alice still hugging me, I turned around and took a step into the room. Edward was unpacking box after box of CDs. Apparently he hadn't thrown them away; he just put them in the basement.

"What's up, honey?" I asked.

Edward turned around and raised an eyebrow when he saw Alice still attached to my waist. He didn't bother asking questions about it since he knew he'd get a completely random answer that made no sense whatsoever. Edward was slowly learning to cope with my sense of humor. He still got frustrated at the sarcasm, but hey, he'll live.

"What are you doing today?" Edward opened yet another box.

"Jacob and Embry are coming over to pick me up soon. I have to explain to them the whole engagement thing, and that we'll be moving next year," I said.

"They're here," Alice giggled. Two seconds later the doorbell was ringing and I heard Emmett and Rosalie fighting to see who could get to the door first.

"I'd better go," I pried Alice off of me and went over to give Edward a kiss before I left.

He wouldn't let me go. "Edward…" I warned.

"Bella…" he retorted.

"Please let go, I have to leave."

He shook his head. "No you don't."

I sighed. "Yes I do. And I'd prefer to get downstairs before Emmett does something stupid."

"Fine," Edward's hands unwrapped themselves from my waist. "But only because I don't want Emmett hurting your friends,"

I smiled. "I love you," I kissed him on the cheek.

"I love you too," he replied.

I ran down the hall and practically fell down the stairs but Emmett caught me before I could do any real damage to myself. "Thanks," I giggled.

I straightened out my shirt and walked forward to the front door. Embry was standing on the porch, looking thoroughly nervous. He was almost shaking, and I didn't know if it was from anger or fear. Probably a combination of the two.

"Where's Jake?" I frowned.

Embry flicked his head in the direction of the driveway. "He's in the car."

"Let's go then," I said quickly and started walking out the door, but Emmett stopped me.

I looked over at him and frowned. I was about to protest when he started talking.

"If you lay a finger on my little sister, you're dead," he growled.

I punched him in the stomach. "There will be none of that, Emmett." He looked down at me in surprise. "Apologize."

"Are you serious?" Emmett gaped at me.

I nodded. "Absolutely."

He sighed in frustration. "Sorry," he mumbled.

I heard Edward laughing from upstairs. "Edward!" I yelled. "Not funny!" he instantly shut up.

I smiled to myself. "Okay," I sighed. "No more threats, Emmett."

"Yes ma'am," he gave a mock salute which earned him another punch, but this time it was only playful.

"I love you, big brother. I'll see you later; maybe we can finish our game of chess tonight. Sound good?"

Emmett smiled and nodded. "Sounds perfect."

I gave him a quick hug and then went out the door. As soon as I heard the click of the door closing I was apologizing for Emmett's behavior.

"Its okay, Bella," Embry reassured me for the thousandth time.

"Are you sure?" I winced.

"Yes, I'm positive," he repeated. "Trust me; if I were him I'd be protective too. Oh wait, I am!"

"Ugh! Too many people protecting me," I slid into the passenger seat of Jacob's Volkswagen.

"No," Jacob said. "Not enough people."

I glared at him and smacked his arm.

"Abuse!" He screamed.

I smacked him again. "Not so loud!"

Embry started laughing when he looked out the windshield and saw the Cullen children walking onto the porch to see what was going on. My slumped in my seat and groaned. I was pretty sure I was blushing too.

"Good job, Jake." I said through clenched teeth.

His only reply was putting the car in reverse and pulling out of the driveway.

* * *

"You're getting married," Jared repeated.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, married, joined in holy matrimony, till death do we part, the whole shebang."

"How is the whole thing gonna work though? You're human," Quil shook his head in confusion.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," I said. "We're moving to Alaska next year, a few months before the wedding. We're still debating on whether to change me before or after the wedding, but it's a definite at this point."

"Alaska? What the hell's in Alaska?" Sam piped in.

"Some friends of the Cullens live in Denali, and we're going to stay there for a while. Until I get the whole vampire thing down at least," I explained.

"I thought you said Edward was bent on you staying human," Jacob said softly. I knew he was disappointed, I couldn't blame him. By this time next year, I wouldn't be able to see him ever again. I wouldn't be able to see anyone from my old life.

"I thought that too, but we made a deal that if I married him, he would change me. So I guess it works out for the both of us."

"And what about us?" Emily asked.

I sighed. "You know I love you guys, and you know I won't ever forget about you. But once we leave, I won't be able to come back. I'll keep in touch with you though; it was one of the compromises Edward made to persuade me to leave Forks. I'll be giving you a P.O box address where you can write me, and you'll still have my cell phone number, so you can call anytime," I paused. "I'm not leaving for a year, so there's no reason to be sad about it now. We might as well use the time we have left."

"You'll still be my kids' God-mother though, right?" Emily looked at me longingly.

"Only if you want me too," I smiled.

She instantly lit up and hugged me tight. "Of course I want you too!"

"It's such a nice day, let's go to the beach," I suggested.

Everyone agreed and we made our way over to First Beach. Jacob and Sam went straight for the water and started jumping in waves and throwing water at each other. I sighed and shook my head. Boys.

I was walking with Embry and Jared along the waters edge. We were silent, for the most part, until we reached the bottom of the cliffs.

"Cliff-diving?" Embry smiled at me mischievously.

"Oh, you're on!" I laughed and started running up the hill to the top of the cliff.

Embry and Jared were right behind me the entire time, laughing all the way up.

* * *

_So, that's my story. Sorry if the end disappointed you, but I was getting writer's block and it just seemed like a good place to end it. If you have any questions whatsoever, feel free to ask away. I'll answer anything, seriously.  
_

**Well, anyways, here's the playlist I used for the entire story.**

Basement Ghost Singing – Armor For SleepDown – Blink-182  
Mercy Me – Alkaline Trio  
If I Fail – Cartel  
The Fight – The Classic Crime  
All The Memories – The Classic Crime  
Say The Word – The Classic Crime (**this song screams Edward, seriously. Listen to it**)  
Headlights – The Classic Crime  
Garden Statement – Hidden In Plain View  
Hanging By A Moment – Lifehouse  
Blind – Lifehouse  
Everything – Lifehouse  
Sunrise Sunset – New Years Day  
Atrophy – The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus  
Face Down – The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus  
Antidote For Irony – So They Say  
Nickels and Dimes – Social Distortion  
Ride – The Vines (**this song reminds me of Alice for some reason. Don't know why**)  
Aside – The Weakerthans  
Fiction – Kids In The Way  
Time To Waste – Alkaline Trio  
Radio – Alkaline Trio  
Your Neck – Alkaline Trio  
Bloodied Up – Alkaline Trio  
Auld Triangle – Dropkick Murphys  
The Spicy McHaggis Jig – Dropkick Murphys  
Sunrise Highway – Dropkick Murphys


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